Living Shadow
by MangaFreak15
Summary: AU. Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight.
1. Prologue: Eternal Promise

**Hello there, friends. I watched Fairy Tail all over again, caught up on the current chapters, and read a bunch of Fairy Tail fanfiction. Of course, that made me want to write one. This will probably just be a pet project, though, since I'm still (slowly) working on **_**Blazing Sky**_** and **_**Miles of the Universe.**_** Enjoy.**

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**Living Shadow**

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Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.

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**Prologue – Eternal Promise**

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**Year X677**

"Mama? Papa? Where are you?"

A small girl slowly wandered through the thick maze of trees, clutching a stuffed pink horse to her chest. Her bare feet were covered in dirt and grass stains from how long she had been walking around, desperately searching for her parents. Sunlight streamed through the leaves above her head, falling in rippling patterns over the forest floor.

There was a quiet rustle from a nearby bush. The little girl turned towards the shrubbery with a hopeful glance. "Mama? Is that you?" she asked, taking a step forward.

A brown rope suddenly shot out from the bush, wrapping around the surprised girl and causing her to drop her stuffed horse to the ground. A weedy man with two buck teeth poking over his lower lip rose from the bush, cackling. "Hyahaha! Got you, girly!" he leered, walking up to her. He rubbed his spidery hands together in glee. "A little one like you will sell real well on the market, 'specially with that hair of yours." The girl shivered in fear as the man grabbed a fistful of her wavy blond hair and held it to his nose for a long sniff.

"W-who are you? What are you g-going to do with me?" she stuttered, frozen to the spot.

She yelped in pain as the man tugged harshly on her hair. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she held them back the best she could. She wasn't a cry-baby, after all. Mama and Papa told her that the fairies didn't visit cry-babies.

"I don't like it when my prey talks back to me," the scary man hissed into her ear, scraping his dirty fingernails over her cheek. She whimpered.

"S-stop it," she whispered, her vision going blurry from all the tears welling up in her eyes. "Let go of me!"

The man snarled at her and smacked her, leaving thin red welts over her face. She cried out and thrashed against the rope that bound her arms to her sides. "You brat! Don't make me hurt you more or you won't sell as well!" he roared, tightening the rope.

"Mama! Papa!" the little girl screamed. "Someone, help me!"

The weedy man's face purpled in rage as the child he had caught refused to listen to his demands to obey him. "You'll pay for this, you bit–" He was interrupted as a flying kick nailed him in the head and smashed him into a nearby tree face first. He slumped to the ground, clearly unconscious as the whites of his eyes indicated.

Without him to tighten the rope, the brown cord fell away from her small body. The little girl turned grateful, teary eyes up at her savior. She gasped as the sunlight hit his hair and face at just the right angle, making his tousled locks shine like spun gold and the blue of his eyes glow like gems. He wore a dark cloak over his shoulders, outlined in burnt orange. Underneath he wore no shirt, leaving him bare-chested. Black drawstring pants with dark orange stripes running down the sides completed the get-up, along with plain navy-blue sandals.

"Are you… a fairy?" she whispered, awed by his appearance.

The stranger looked amused. "That's the first time I've ever been called a fairy," he spoke, his deep voice rumbling pleasantly from his throat.

She blushed in embarrassment, her hands clasping together in front of her. "You aren't?" She sounded a tad disappointed.

The golden-haired man laughed. "No, I'm afraid not, little lady," he said, grinning down at her.

"Aww," she pouted, absently toeing at the dirt. Her green eyes landed on the stuffed horse still lying on the ground. "Ah, my horse!"

The man bent over, taking the stuffed animal off the ground. He dusted it off carefully and handed it back to the little girl. She hugged the pink toy close, giving her savior a bright, cheerful smile.

"Thanks, mister!" she exclaimed. "Um, what's your name? I'm Mavis – Mavis Vermilion."

"Mavis, huh? A cute name for a cute girl," the man chuckled, patting her on the head. She blushed again at the display of affection. "My name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

Mavis tilted her head at him in confusion. "Uzumaki Naruto? But then wouldn't your name be 'Uzumaki'?" she asked.

"Where I come from, we introduce ourselves with our surname first, then our given name," the blue-eyed man explained, chuckling. "Though that was a long time ago, I suppose. According to your land's rules, my name would be Naruto Uzumaki."

"Oh, that makes sense," Mavis replied, nodding. "Okay, um, thank you for saving me, Naruto."

"No problem, little lady," Naruto responded, giving her a toothy grin. He turned his gaze to the unconscious slave trader lying several feet away. "It's always a pleasure to put scumbags like him in their place. Now, why don't we get you back to your parents? I'll drop this guy off to be arrested afterwards." He walked up to the other man, swiped two fingers down the odd markings on his left arm, and caught a scroll that appeared in mid-air. He muttered something unintelligible to the girl's ears, causing a faint blue glow to appear over the unconscious man. The next moment the man disappeared, and then the scroll followed.

"How did you do that?" Mavis gasped, staring at him with large, round eyes. "Where did they go?"

Naruto winked at her, placing a finger against his own lips. "That's a secret, little lady," he teased. "Now let's go! I'm sure your parents are worried about you."

Mavis was disappointed that he didn't tell her, but brightened at the mention of her parents. "Okay!" She took the hand he offered to her, reveling in the feeling of his large, strong fingers dwarfing hers. She giggled a little. This man would keep her safe, she was sure of it.

It took a while, but they finally arrived at the small house where Mavis lived with her parents. The little girl let go of Naruto's hand and bounced up to the door, knocking on it eagerly. The door immediately swung open, revealing the face of her mother. The woman gasped at the sight of her lost daughter beaming up at her, and swept the little girl up in a crushing hug.

"Thank Earthland you're alright, Mavis," the woman sobbed. "We didn't know what to do when you suddenly disappeared. Your father is still out there looking, but we can surprise him when he gets back!"

"Naruto helped me get back!" Mavis chirped. "He knocked out the creepy man who caught me and brought me back here."

"Naruto, is it?" The woman lifted her head and gave the area a cursory glance. "I don't see anyone here, honey. Did he leave already?"

Mavis turned around, confused. "He's right – huh?" she mumbled, staring at the spot where he had been just a few moments ago. "He was just here…"

"I guess he's just shy," her mother remarked. "Now come in. Help me prepare for dinner, okay?"

"Okay," Mavis replied. With a last look towards the line of trees beyond the house, she turned to enter her home, not knowing that it would be many years before she met the mysterious man again.

* * *

**Year X686**

Nine years had passed since her first – and only - encounter with the man named Uzumaki Naruto. Even though she had just been a child, her memory of him standing in that sunlight among the trees, his kind eyes and bright grin warming her heart, was still crystal clear. Since that day, so many things had happened – her parents' deaths, the Red Lizard guild, the Tenrou Jade – but now she was here, with the three people she had met while on Tenroujima, and together they had founded their very first guild, Fairy Tail.

"Do fairies have tails?" she had asked her three guild members when they wondered why she wanted to name it 'Fairy Tail'. "No one knows, that's why it's a mystery. I want our guild to have an endless journey, like the eternal search for an answer to that question."

"An excellent question, indeed," Warrod Sequen, a tall, dark-haired mage with a surprisingly long and blocky face, had said, rubbing his chin.

"An endless journey, eh? Sounds like my kind of deal," Yury Dreyar, a man with spiky blond hair and a vertical scar over his left eye, had responded.

"We may be a new guild now, but the path of greatness lies before us," Purehito Gaebolg, a mage with slicked-back hair and a black eyepatch over his right eye, had said. "Let us endeavor to make Fairy Tail the best and strongest guild in all of Fiore!"

As with all new guilds, not very many requests came in at first. But the four main members of the guild persevered. This guild was one of Mavis' many dreams, and they wouldn't let it end when they had just reached the first leg of its journey.

Then one day, they received a letter from an unknown sender.

Mavis stared at it, noting the plain white envelope and the untidy scrawl across the front. It was personally addressed to her, although the sender hadn't bothered to write their own name on the envelope. She didn't want to open it in case it turned out to be a trap.

"What's that, Mavis?" Warrod asked, walking up to her. "A letter?"

"Maybe it's a love letter," Yury snickered. "It's never too early to get started!"

"It seems too plain to be a love letter, Yury," Mavis softly commented. Her fingers turned the envelope over, and her eyes widened.

On the back of the letter were written the letters 'U.N.'. Immediately knowing who the sender was, her slim fingers dug under the flap and tore the envelope open. She took out the piece of paper that was inside with care, a curious smile playing over her lips. Unfolding it, she began to read, drinking in his somewhat untidy handwriting and warm words.

_Hello Mavis,_

_I know it's been years since we met, and I will understand if you don't remember who I am. Unfortunately certain circumstances have forced me into hiding, and I can no longer freely give my name away. No, I'm not fugitive or a criminal – according to the shitheads on the Magic Council, anyway - I've simply caught too much negative attention at the moment. If you wish to contact me, you must call me 'N'. I'll tell you how at the end of this letter._

_So how's it going, little lady? I heard you founded a magic guild. Congratulations on that, by the way. I have a gift for you, and it will also be a way to contact me in case of an emergency. With that in mind, please don't play with it. I won't be able to tell whether you're actually in danger or not if you do. Promise me, yeah? Emergencies _**only**_._

_Anyways, that's not what I wanted to write to you about. I have a proposition for you, and I hope you'll accept. To avoid giving too much sensitive information away, I will come and talk to you personally. This is the only time I'll allow you to use your gift outside of an emergency, alright? I can just see you vibrating with curiosity there. Have some patience, little lady! Being a guild master comes with lots of responsibilities!_

_To accept your gift, place your thumb on that seal at the bottom right corner. It will react to your magical signature and give you the gift. The seal also functions as a sensor of sorts, and I've coded it so that you are the only one who can open it. Do you remember that disappearing act I did with the slave trader and the scroll nine years ago? Same thing. Now you know my secret, heh._

_Well, what are you waiting for? Open that seal and get your gift. It might look weird, trust me, but throw it and you'll see what happens. See you soon, little lady!_

_N_

Mavis didn't realize that she had a huge smile on her face until Purehito pointed it out. She blushed a bit, but told her fellow guild members that it was a letter from a man who had saved her life a long time ago.

She placed her thumb against the small black seal in the corner as the letter instructed, and gasped as a shiny black knife with three prongs appeared in a puff of smoke. Her friends had been unprepared and all three jumped back with apprehensive looks, ready to unleash torrents of magic upon the item that had suddenly appeared in mid-air.

"No, it's okay!" Mavis reassured them. "He told me this was a gift for me." She set the letter down so she could examine the odd weapon.

It was polished black, and made from a material that she didn't know about. The handle was tightly bound in white wrappings. There was a circular ring at the end of the handle that looked like it could fit one finger. The blade was split into three prongs, with the middle being the most prominent while the other two were shorter and stuck slightly outward on both sides. There was something inscribed onto the metal just above the handle.

Now that they knew what the strange item was meant to be, the other three slightly lowered their guards. After all, some gifts could turn out to be deadly. "May I see that, Mavis?" Purehito asked. "It looks interesting."

The blond guild master handed the gift to him. Warrod and Yury also squished into Purehito's space to examine the gift. It was unlike anything that the three of them had ever seen in their travels around Fiore. "Did this savior of yours tell you what this is supposed to be?" Warrod asked, running a finger down the length of the blade. "If this is a throwing knife, this has got to be the first time I've seen one with three prongs."

Mavis shook her head. "He only said it was a gift. He mentioned that this was something we could use to contact him in case of emergencies, but that was all. Maybe the name is considered 'sensitive information' and he didn't want to mention it in the letter," she said.

"So what does he want? Is there a reason he contacted you?" Yury inquired, squinting at the inscription. "This is some damn fine forge work, if I do say so myself."

"Ah, that's right!" Mavis took the object back, ignoring Purehito's grumpy "I wasn't done looking at it yet". She then tossed it point-first towards the floor.

The man from her memories was there before the knife hit the ground.

"Gyah!" Warrod yelled, falling backwards.

Purehito and Yury already called up their magic and were about to attack the stranger in their midst when Mavis commanded, "Stop! This is him! This is the man who saved my life nine years ago."

The blond man held up his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. "I mean no harm, Fairy Tail," he said, looking at the three mages' apprehensive faces. "I simply wanted to talk to the little lady here. I'm glad you remember me, by the way." He smiled down at her.

"While you're here, can I use your real name or do you still want me to call you 'N'?" Mavis asked.

"It would be best if you just called me 'N' from now on, Mavis-chan," N replied. "I can't have my real name being heard by the wrong people, you know. I know you and your friends are trustworthy, but precautionary measures must be taken regardless."

Mavis nodded. "Okay, N. Let's go up to my office. We can talk there," she said, gesturing to the stairwell leading to the second floor.

"You better not hurt her, N," Yury warned. "Mavis is the only one who trusts you; I'll bring you down myself if you harm one hair on her head."

"Fear not, the little lady is too cute for me to harbor ill will towards her," N chuckled. "Lead the way, Mavis-chan."

The petite girl danced up the stairs, N following her at a more sedate pace. When the door closed behind them, N slapped a palm against the door, a black mark appearing on the door from underneath his hand.

"What's that for?" Mavis asked curiously, sitting in her chair.

"Your friends might try to eavesdrop on us. This nifty little thing makes our conversation entirely private," N said cheerfully. He stood opposite her at the other side of the desk, dropping his grin in favor of a more serious face.

Mavis recognized that now was not the time for fun and games, so she also adopted a business face. N almost laughed because her serious face was completely unsuited for her, but held back. "So, I have a proposition for you, Mavis-chan."

"Yes, you mentioned so in your letter," said Mavis.

"Before I tell you about it, let me give you some background information about myself," said N, crossing his arms across his chest. "I come from a place called the Elemental Nations, which is what you guys now call 'the Orient'."

"The Lost Lands of the Orient?" Mavis gasped. "I heard that place is supposedly a myth because no one can find it. You came from there, N?"

N nodded, some strands of blond hair falling his eyes. He swept them aside with his hand. "The Elemental Nations existed a long time ago. As time passed, modern technology and foreign 'magic', the kind you mages use, came into favor and the people of that land, called _shinobi_, fell out of favor. War and emigration left it in ruins. There's nothing there anymore but the last remnants of its culture. I am the last _shinobi_ left," he explained.

Mavis frowned, lightly biting her bottom lip. "But if you came from there… how old _are_ you, N?" she asked tentatively. "You don't look a day over twenty-five."

"Older than you think, Mavis-chan," N replied, winking. "You're welcome to try and guess if you like. You're not going to be able to guess how old I am."

"Ooh, that was a challenge, wasn't it?" Mavis said, shooting up from her chair with a grin on her face. "If I can guess your age, do I get anything?"

N pretended to mull things over. "Nope!" he answered. "Actually, what would you want, anyway?"

Mavis pointed at him. "If I win, you'll join my guild!" she declared.

N blinked at her, surprised. "Join your guild? You want an old fart like me in your guild?" he teased.

Mavis pouted at him. "What, you won't accept it?" she asked sulkily.

N just laughed. "Oh, I will. It's on, Mavis-chan!" he said. "So, back to the story. _Shinobi_ is a term used for the warriors of the Elemental Nations. We were ninja, so to speak. There was an energy called _chakra_ that existed in a _shinobi_'s body. As an individual grew, so did their _chakra_ coil. This is different from what mages use. Mages' bodies are wired to automatically collect Eternano particles from the air to refill their magic containers. With me so far?"

"Uh, sure!" Mavis answered glibly. She gave N a slightly guilty smile. He just sighed and continued with his impromptu history lesson.

"_Chakra_ enables me to perform many feats, and is much more versatile than magic. Most mages tend to stick with one type of magic, but _chakra_ makes me more of a jack-of-all-trades type. Which leads to my proposition. Mavis Vermilion, I, Uzumaki Naruto of the Elemental Nations, hereby request to become Fairy Tail's official shadow guardian," Naruto finished, bowing deeply to the guild master.

Mavis stared at him in stunned silence. She slowly sat back down on her chair. "You're sure about this, N?" she asked softly. "You won't be able to reveal your name or face to anyone but the guild masters of Fairy Tail. You will forever be a shadow of the guild, its eternal protector no matter what happens to it."

"_Shinobi_ were born to be shadows, Mavis-chan," N answered steadily, raising himself up again. "And I have lived for this long thus far, more years aren't going to hurt me. I have decided on this myself."

"Why?" Mavis murmured. "We are just a brand new guild. Why protect us?"

N regarded her with cool blue eyes. "I can see the potential in your future," he replied quietly. "Your kindness and caring for your comrades – they will be passed down to all of your guild members. I wish to protect this guild so that it will grow into something that you can be indefinitely proud of. Maybe some years down the road I'll have to abandon my shadow guardianship and step into the light, but until then, I will be its invisible guide and protector."

Mavis smiled sadly. "Very well, then. I, Mavis Vermilion, hereby accept Uzumaki Naruto's request for shadow guardianship of Fairy Tail. The shadow guardian cannot betray the guild or its master in any way. This contract shall bind the guardian to the guild for an eternity, unless the current guild master chooses to relinquish said guardian from the contract. So mote it be!" Golden magic circles burst into existence, a fiery ribbon of platinum magic circling around both of them, binding them to the contract. The image of a black fox with nine tails appeared on Mavis' right wrist, while Naruto received a black Fairy Tail mark directly over his heart. He looked down and put one hand on the mark.

"I guess you'll have to find something else you want if you win, Mavis-chan," he joked. "With this mark, technically I am part of your guild."

Mavis laughed with him, her musical voice tinkling like tiny bells. "Yeah, you're right. Let's see… if I win, will you take me out for dinner?" she asked.

N blinked. "Like, a date dinner or just as friends?"

"A date dinner, of course!" Mavis cheered. "I am a lady, you know."

"A little lady, that is," N teased, causing the young guild master to puff out her cheeks in annoyance.

The golden circles faded from the room. "Well then, little lady, I shall see you later. As Fairy Tail's new shadow guardian, I will always be here with you," N said, giving her a salute. "Ta-ta for now!" He vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**Year X703**

"Are you passing down the title now, Mavis-chan?" N asked standing in front of Mavis' desk. "Your tenure as guild master has lasted seventeen years so far."

Mavis, now a thirty year-old woman, smiled at him wanly. "Seventeen years is long enough for me, N," she said gently. "It's time for me to step down so my successor can lead Fairy Tail to a new age."

"Who is it? You'll have to pass on responsibility for the shadow guardian contract to them."

"I'm thinking of letting Purehito take over for me. What do you think?" Mavis asked.

N raised an eyebrow. "You want my opinion on this?" Mavis nodded. "Mm… Purehito certainly has a good head on his shoulders. He values his comrades and isn't lacking in the magical department either. As long as he carries your will, Fairy Tail won't falter under his leadership. I'd say he makes a good choice. Remember that you'll have to show him _that_, too."

"The Lumen Histoire? Yes, I know," Mavis sighed. "Thank you for all you've done for Fairy Tail, N. I don't know where we would be without you."

"Aw, shucks, little lady, don't downplay yourself. Even without me here, your legendary tactical prowess would have kept the guild afloat, no problem," N said, grinning.

"I was simply following the melody of the fairies," Mavis sniffed, although the smile threatening to break out of her face indicated that she wasn't serious.

"Sure, sure," N agreed. "Do you still think I'm a fairy?" He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Wha – of course not!" she denied. "You said so yourself that you weren't."

"Damn straight I'm not," he said. "But if you want to get technical, then yes, I _am_ a fairy… of Fairy Tail, that is."

Mavis huffed. "You're poking fun at me, aren't you?" she grumbled.

"When haven't I poked fun at you in some way, little lady?"

"Oh, you – I'm not little anymore, N. I'm thirty!" she exclaimed.

"And you still look like you're sixteen, okay?" he replied. "I'm pretty sure girls like to look younger than they actually are." Mavis didn't miss his brief mumble of "like Tsunade-baachan".

"That's not the point," she insisted. "The point is that you still treat me like I'm–"

N gave her a somber look. "When you're as old as I am, everyone seems like little kids," he said quietly. "And it has been a _very_ long time."

Mavis didn't have a counterargument to that. "Do you ever get tired of living, N?" she asked equally quietly. "Your friends and family have probably been waiting for you for years..."

N barked out a laugh. "And don't I know it!" He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "But I've been cursed with this immortal existence. I can't die – I'm not even sure there _is_ a way for me to die. Old age? Psh, no way. Fatal injury? No problem, it'll heal in an hour. Poison? Gone in minutes. Decapitation? Well, I haven't tried that… and I really don't want to. It sounds messy."

"N? My next guess is 450 years old."

"Sorry, try again."

Mavis stamped her foot on the floor like a kid. "Darn! I thought I'd get it right this time!" she pouted.

N laughed. "At this rate, you'll grow old and wrinkled before you guess my age right," he teased.

"Old and wrinkly or not, you'll still have to take me out for dinner," Mavis said. "I'm determined to get this right! See this? This is my determined face!"

"I'm so scared," N replied jokingly.

"N," Mavis whined. "You tease."

"Heh, it's in my nature, you know? Anyways, I think we're getting rather off-topic here. Go talk to Purehito and see what he thinks about being the next guild master," N said. "I'll wait here for you." He vanished into the shadows of the room.

Mavis huffed, but walked around the room to the door. She made her way downstairs, spotting her target sitting at one of the tables talking to one of the newer members.

"Purehito!" she called, gaining everyone's attention. "Come to my office, I need to talk to you about something."

Purehito excused himself from his conversation with the rookie member and followed Mavis back to her office. Once the door closed and the privacy seal activated, Mavis gestured for N to come out.

Purehito stared at the third person in the office. The person was very tall and broad-shouldered, only slightly shorter than himself. The person wore a black mask decorated with orange lines, giving off the visage of a snarling fox. A black cloak with burnt orange trimmings covered the person's shoulders, and the person wore nothing underneath but a pair of black cargo pants with orange flames rising up from the bottom. The person's arms were covered with thin steel plates, their hands sporting a pair of plain black fingerless gloves each embroidered with the guild's insignia in dark orange. A black Fairy Tail mark was placed directly over their heart. Midnight-blue combat boots completed the rather dark ensemble.

"…Who are you?" Purehito finally asked.

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt," a distinctly male voice drawled from behind the mask.

Purehito's brow furrowed in confusion. "Should I? Remove your mask and perhaps I'll remember who you are," he said.

"Ah, but I wear this mask for a reason, you see. Mavis-chan, do your thing first."

Purehito's senses instantly went on alert. This strange man was on such familiar terms with Fairy Tail's guild master, yet chose to hide behind a mask? For some reason, his term of endearment towards the petite blond woman seemed strangely familiar…

Mavis took a deep breath. "Purehito, you have been with this guild for seventeen years. You have seen it rise, struggle out of the earth, fall to frustration, and _live._ Your mind is keener than any blade, and your magical power is nearly unparalleled. I have discussed with N here, and both of us have decided to choose you as the next guild master of Fairy Tail," she said firmly.

Purehito had been expecting many things, but certainly not _this._ "You want me to be… the next guild master?" he said, shocked. "But I… well… this is the highest honor you could bestow on me, Mavis. Thank you very much for your consideration." He bowed deeply to the blond woman.

Mavis smiled. "Chin up, Purehito," she said softly. "Your love for your comrades is clear, as is your heart and mind. I gladly welcome you as the second guild master of Fairy Tail."

"I wholeheartedly accept the position and all the responsibilities that come with it," Purehito said. "I will make Fairy Tail a guild to be proud of, Mavis."

"I know you will, old friend," Mavis laughed gently. "But before I hand over the mantle of guild master, there are a couple things you must first know about. N, if you would please take off your mask?"

"Time for me to shine, little lady," N said, undoing the strap that held the mask to his face. He looked up when it was off and gazed directly at Purehito's surprised face.

"So it's you," the mage answered in a slightly gravelly tone. "No wonder I recognized your voice from somewhere. You are N, the man who saved Mavis many years ago."

"Correct," N said. "And since you are going to be the guild master, you should know that I am officially contracted as Fairy Tail's shadow guardian."

Purehito almost choked on his own spit at the casual revelation. "A shadow guardian? I didn't think anyone still did that in this day and age," he murmured.

"All for the purpose of protecting Fairy Tail," N said firmly. "Mavis-chan will pass her part of the contract to you, the new guild master, and from then on it will be your responsibility to ensure that my tri-prong kunai is put to good use. Like I've told Mavis-chan, it is not for playing with. Use it only for emergencies."

"Rest assured that I will not play around with a weapon like that," Purehito replied. He turned back to Mavis. "What else do you need to tell me before you announce me as the new guild master?"

"Ah, come with me. What I am going to show you is a secret that absolutely _must not_ be revealed to anyone except who you choose as your successor." Mavis gave him one of the most serious looks he had ever seen on her face. "Do you understand, Purehito?"

"Yes, I understand," he said. "I promise that this secret shall never leave my lips until I choose a successor to pass it on to."

Mavis smiled. "Good. N, you are dismissed. Let's talk again soon," she said to the blond man. N gave a slight bow, slipped his mask back on, and disappeared into the shadows once more.

* * *

**Year X750**

Mavis lay on her deathbed, staring silently up at the blank white ceiling. Though she was old and her body was failing her, she still sensed N's presence as he appeared in the room. She attempted to lift her head to see him, but quickly tired and abandoned the endeavor.

N crossed the room in three quick strides and stood by her bedside. "You're about to go, huh? I'll miss teasing you, little lady," he said quietly, brushing her graying hair out of her face.

Her cracked lips parted in a semblance of a smile. "N? My last guess… is 900 years old." She took a wheezing breath as she waited for his answer.

"Heh, got it in one, princess," N answered, finally giving her the confirmation that she had been waiting for for so long.

"I told you… I'd get it… didn't I?" she rasped, trying to muster the strength to grab his hand. He saw what she was trying to do and took her hand.

"I'm sorry I can't take you out for dinner though," he murmured. "Maybe next time, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise, Mavis. And Uzumaki Naruto never makes promises he can't keep."

"Thank you…" She took a deep breath, silently praying for her body to hold on just a little bit longer. "N… no, Naruto?"

"Yeah? What's up, little lady?"

"I love you."

N smiled sadly down at her feeble form. "I know."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be around longer," she whispered.

"You lived a long and happy life, Mavis. That's enough for me," he replied, squeezing her hand gently so he didn't accidentally crush her brittle bones.

"Bury me on Tenroujima, please?" Mavis asked, taking a rattling breath.

"If that's what you want, little lady," N replied. "Your wish is my command."

Mavis let out a rasping laugh, her eyes blinking tiredly at him. "I feel tired, Naruto. Can I sleep now?" she asked.

N leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah, you can. Goodnight, Mavis. Fairy Tail is in good hands," he murmured.

"Okay," she said, smiling at him. Her eyes closed, and seconds later, her breath ceased and her heart stopped. Mavis Vermilion, first guild master of Fairy Tail, died at the age of 77, holding the hand of her most beloved person.

N let out a slow breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "See you next time, little lady," he whispered into the air.

He imagined he could still hear her tinkling laugh in the room.

* * *

**I swear this thing wrote itself. I hadn't intended to write such a long prologue… I feel like the prologue will be longer than the future chapters. Well, this is just a pet project to satisfy my Fairy Tail binge. Yeah, so I had a bit of NarutoxMavis thrown in, but that is in no way the final pairing. I'm not sure what pairing I'm going to do anyway – I'm undecided between Erza and Mirajane, maybe.**

**Also, I decided to use 'Purehito' instead of 'Precht'. Because how the hell does 'Purehito' translate to 'Precht'? So Purehito it is.**

**So, tell me what you think, okay? Please drop a review. Bye bye!**

**MangaFreak15**


	2. Chapter 1: Little Dragon, Big World

**Holy **_**shit**_**. If the human jaw didn't have limitations, mine would have gone straight through the floor at the overwhelming response my little pet project got. In just 24 hours, I got 41 reviews, 114 favs, and 148 follows. I knew something was up when I woke up unusually early the morning after I'd posted the first chapter and couldn't go back to sleep. I thought I'd be lucky to get even 100 new messages in my inbox, but you guys completely blew me out of the water. Thank you so much!**

* * *

**Living Shadow**

* * *

Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.

* * *

**Chapter One – Little Dragon, Big World**

* * *

**Year X736**

"Makarov."

The blond man looked up as the tall, elderly figure of Fairy Tail's second guild master loomed over him, his staff firmly grasped in one hand. "Yeah? You want something, Master?"

Purehito, who had grown a fine white beard and mustache during his years as Fairy Tail's guild master, nodded. "Come with me, boy. There is someone I would like to introduce to you," he said, turning to head to the upstairs office.

"I'm not a boy," Makarov grumbled, leaving his seat to follow Purehito.

Purehito chuckled quietly, but said nothing. They entered the office and the guild master closed the door behind them. He looked at Makarov for a few moments, then turned his head to the left and spoke to thin air, "You can come out now, N."

Makarov jumped back in surprise as a man materialized out of the shadows of the room. "Good afternoon, Purehito-san. You called?" asked the strange man.

"Who is this?" Makarov demanded, glaring at the newcomer. "I've never seen him before."

Both Purehito and N laughed. "He reminds me of Yury," said N, stepping closer to the shorter man. "Man, that rude way of speech. Like father, like son, I say!"

"Indeed. Makarov, I would like to introduce you to N, Fairy Tail's official shadow guardian," Purehito said, gesturing to the masked man with his staff.

N bowed, one hand poised over the black Fairy Tail emblem on his chest. "Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Makarov-san," said N softly. "I hope we can have a splendid relationship."

Makarov eyed N warily. "A shadow guardian, you say? I'd heard they existed, but I never would have imagined that my own guild would have one," he said. "You say your name is N. Can you tell me your true name?"

N shook his head. "My true name must remain a secret. I have enemies far stronger than this guild who are after my head, you see. To you, I will simply be 'N'," he explained.

Makarov nodded. Then a thought struck him, and he turned a suspicious glance towards Purehito, who was trying and failing to hide a smirk. "Master… don't tell me you–" he began.

"Ah, I knew I made the right choice, boy. You caught on quickly," Purehito cut him off, giving the forty-year old man a grin. Makarov felt a chill run down his spine at the sight. "Yes, it is exactly what you are thinking. I am appointing you as the third guild master of Fairy Tail."

"You can't be serious," Makarov deadpanned, giving the elderly man a flat glare. "I'm not suited for the position. There's got to be someone else in the guild who's better at this."

"You should have more faith in yourself, Makarov-san," said N, stepping to Makarov's side and laying a steady hand on his shoulder. Makarov had to resist the urge to throw N's hand off and punch him in the face for touching him. The masked man seemed to get the hint though, and backed away with a murmured apology.

"I couldn't be more serious, boy," said Purehito, thumping the end of his staff against the wooden floor. "You hold great love for your comrades, an absolute requirement to be guild master of Fairy Tail. Your large magical capacity and successful mission record are both higher than the others in this guild. You are my final choice, boy. I will be departing on my own journey soon and I have something I need to show you before then, but I know you will lead Fairy Tail to greatness."

"But Master–" Makarov protested.

"I have faith that you can _believe_, Makarov. This guild doesn't need an old fossil like me as its leader. It's your turn now. With a fresh mind in charge, Fairy Tail _will_ become number one," said Purehito firmly, tapping the head of his staff gently against Makarov's head. "Believe, boy. That's all you need to do."

"Yes, Master," Makarov acquiesced, closing his eyes. "I'll… I'll try."

"Aye, that's a good lad," chuckled Purehito. "No need to be so serious though. Lighten up, your journey has just begun!"

"Purehito-san, if you'll allow me to finalize my part now…" N said, grabbing their attention. One of his hands was poised to take off his mask and reveal his face.

The aging man nodded. "Go ahead, N."

Makarov watched as the man took off his black mask, revealing a surprisingly handsome face with eyes bluer than the sea. An untidy mop of golden-blond hair sat on the man's head, long enough to fall over his eyes. Three whisker marks graced each cheek, giving the man a more rugged, almost animalistic look, but it suited him. N smiled.

"Because you are the succeeding guild master, Purehito will pass the responsibility of maintaining my shadow guardianship contract to you," he said. He held up the triple-pronged knife that Makarov had glimpsed a few times during his trips to the Master's office. "This is the tri-prong kunai I gifted to the first guild master, Mavis. When you throw it, I will automatically appear wherever it is in a split-second. As per my own self-made tradition, I advise you not to play with it because I cannot tell the difference between when it is thrown for amusement or when it is thrown in the case of an actual emergency. This is for emergencies _only._ Alright?"

Makarov slowly nodded. He walked forward to accept the strange knife from N, critically examining it from base to tip. "This is the strangest knife I've ever seen. What did you call it again?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the patiently-waiting man.

"It is a _kunai_," replied N. "This kind in particular is a weapon from my homeland that was created for my father's signature teleportation technique. I mastered the skill many years ago."

Without saying anything, Makarov threw it towards the opposite wall as quickly as he could. N instantly appeared in the kunai's trajectory and caught it by the ring at the end of its handle. He twirled it around his finger effortlessly, giving the forty-year old man a humorous grin, "Was that really necessary, Makarov-san?"

Makarov straightened with a grin of his own. "I see your skills are exactly as you claim, N. Thank you for protecting Fairy Tail for all these years," he said, bowing.

"Sure, sure, no problem," said N, lazily waving a hand about. He handed the kunai back to Purehito, who stored it in one of the desk's drawers. "This guild has been growing on me ever since I took up shadow guardianship."

"I hope you will continue to protect this guild and its future for as long as I am guild master," said Makarov, holding out a hand.

N took it and the men shook hands. "I will protect this guild for as long as it exists, Makarov-san. I am its shadow and guardian, after all," N replied. "In fact, it is more than likely that I will continue to protect it even after you are long gone."

Makarov released his hand and took a step back. "Mind elaborating on that?" he asked, referring to N's last statement.

"If you swear on your life that what I am about to say will not leave this room," said N. The friendly grin disappeared from the man's face, replaced by a face that could have been carved from stone. It took all of Makarov's will power not to visibly flinch as the atmosphere in the office suddenly turned oppressive and suffocating from the sheer power of N's presence. Even Purehito looked slightly unnerved.

With great difficulty, Makarov took a deep breath and straightened. "I, Makarov Dreyar, hereby swear that I will listen to N's words without the intention to betray him, whether it be to an outside party or a close acquaintance. Should I speak of the matter outside of my boundaries, I shall willingly forfeit my life in exchange," he said, loudly and clearly.

The choking presence disappeared as soon as he finished. N gave him a sunny grin once again, and Makarov felt so relieved that he nearly collapsed.

"…You're terrifying," Makarov declared, once he got his breath back.

N smiled enigmatically. "Am I really?" he purred. "All part of the job description, I assure you. Now, on to the main matter. The truth is, Makarov-san, I am not human. I am… immortal."

Makarov's brow furrowed in confusion. "Immortal?" he repeated. "How so?"

"Let's see… it's the year X736 according to the Earthland calendar. That means I am roughly 886 years old at this point in time," N said, absently counting on his fingers. "Eh, math was never my strongest point. Oh, and don't tell Mavis. She's still trying to guess how old I am."

"Why make her guess when you told me upfront?" Makarov asked, crossing his arms.

"It's more fun this way," the taller blonde said, smirking. He closed his eyes. "When I say I'm immortal, I mean it, Makarov-san. Eight centuries is a long time to be alive."

"It is," Makarov agreed. "Forgive me, but I am still a bit skeptical. If you are truly as old as you say, how have you kept yourself sane for all these years?"

N's smile turned sad and wistful. "I don't know," he quietly confessed, opening his eyes. "I should have died a long time ago, but I didn't. How do you think it feels to live continuously while everyone else perishes around you? How do you think I feel knowing that I can't form permanent attachments to anyone, knowing that I'll just be left alone in the end? Bonds are naught but leaves in the wind to me. It has been a long journey and I haven't given up yet, but it does get monotonous sometimes. I'm tired, Makarov-san, yet I'm still trying to find a reason to _live_. I have been searching for so, so long and I just want to give up and rest, but that's not how I roll. I can't give up and let the world move forward of its own accord. If there's a reason for me to be here, I will find it. If there's a way for me to die, I will take it. Otherwise, what's the point? I've watched eras come and go, people live and die, and the world tilt on its head more times than I can count, but I'm still _here."_ The sheer amount of bitterness reflected in N's voice startled both Makarov and Purehito.

"N…" Purehito murmured softly, reaching out to touch the man's shoulder. N shook his head and stepped back. He slid the mask back over his face so that the other two men wouldn't be able to read him.

He bowed briefly to them as he melted back into the shadows of the room. "I've said too much. I'll be going now. The next time I'm called, I expect to see you sitting behind the desk, Makarov-san." The shadows warped, and then he vanished.

Makarov turned back to his master. "He's crazy."

"But he's the good kind of crazy, don't you think?" Purehito said. "Really, it's admirable that he can still retain that 'never-give-up' mindset despite being immortal. A lesser man would have broken a long time ago. Now come. I need to show you something important."

* * *

**Year X777**

"Igneel! Igneeeel! Where are you?" panted a small boy with rose-pink hair as he ran around the forest where he lived, attempting to locate his draconian caretaker. "Hey, come out! This isn't funny anymore!"

The scaled scarf wrapped around his neck flapped behind him. It snagged on a low-hanging tree branch and the boy was forced to stop and untangle it before it ripped. Then he took off towards the clearing where Igneel usually napped when he wasn't teaching him the human alphabet or playing with him.

"Igneel!" the boy shouted when he burst into the clearing. The tiny seed of hope that sprouted in his heart died as he looked around the empty clearing in despair. Clear tears began to slide down his cheeks and he buried his face into the scarf to try and muffle his sobs. He fell on his knees and bawled loudly, "IGNEEL! WHERE ARE YOU?! Come back! Don't leave me alone…"

No one answered him. Igneel had well and truly disappeared, leaving him behind. The boy looked up at the sky and _screamed._

Hours later, the ground had been torn asunder and scorched blacker than charcoal from the boy's furious rampage. Exhausted, he laid on his back and muttered, "Igneel, come back… You have to come back, you can't just leave me here like this… DAMN IT!" He slapped a dirty hand over his eyes, but the tears kept trickling out. "Damn it, Igneel… come back, _please_…"

Igneel never came.

The boy's name is Natsu Dragneel, a child raised by the fire dragon Igneel and taught how to use the lost art of Dragon Slayer magic. And on July 7th, year X777, Igneel abandoned him.

Natsu uncovered his eyes, the tear tracks making his face feel sticky and gross. "I need to find him," the pink-haired boy muttered, getting to his feet. "Igneel's waiting for me to find him. Yeah, he's just hiding somewhere and I gotta track him down." His own words seemed to fuel his new resolve, and with a determined expression on his face, the boy marched into the forest. "Here I come, Igneel. Wait for me."

He couldn't lose his father now. Igneel was all he had.

Venturing away from the verdant abode that he had shared with the fire dragon for years was a somewhat scary experience. But Natsu didn't care, his foster father was waiting for him! He walked for miles, asking anyone he came across whether they had seen Igneel. For some reason they all looked at him like he was the stupidest thing to exist on the face of the planet. Anyone who openly doubted him got a flaming fist to the face.

He soon came to a small town. Despite his lack of social interaction with other humans, he boldly marched up to a dark wooden building that had loud music blaring from it. People were drinking something and laughing themselves silly. Surely these guys would know where Igneel was, right?

"A dragon? Are you daft, boy? Dragons don't exist anymore," grunted the bartender, polishing one of the glasses behind the counter.

"Yes, they do!" Natsu growled, balling his hands into fists. This man didn't believe him either! "I was raised by one!"

The man laughed at him. The mockery snapped Natsu's already wire-thin control, and he launched himself over the counter and decked the bartender in the face. Then he ran out of the bar, shouting, "Damn it! _Damn it!"_

"What's got that kid all riled up?" muttered one of the patrons, stealing a glance at the bartender. "Bet you he's been readin' too many fairy tales."

"Just leave 'im alone," sighed his companion, chugging down his beer. "Kids these days, always thinkin' about fairies and dragons and jackshit about reality."

A hooded man sitting two tables away suddenly got up. "It's not nice to stomp all over a kid's dreams, you know," he said, walking up to the two patrons with a suspiciously casual air.

"Eh? Buddy, you can't be thinkin' dragons are real," the second patron laughed, slapping a hand against the wooden surface of the table. "D'you read fairy tales, too? Them's for pansies!"

The hooded man looked darkly at the partially-drunk patron. Everyone in the bar suddenly choked on their alcohol as a heavy, crushing pressure came down on their heads. The two patrons stared up at the hooded man with wide, fearful eyes, whimpering as the power of sheer _rage_ slammed into them full force. The hooded man leaned over, hissing sharply into the second patron's ear, _"You haven't seen what _I've_ seen, you piss-poor excuse of a mortal _**fool**_."_

A foul odor permeated the air as the second patron soiled his pants. The hooded man backed away in disgust. "W-w-who are you?" stammered the other man, trying to hide the growing wet spot on the front of his pants. _"What_ are you?"

The hooded man scoffed. "Who am I? _What_ am I? I am… _your worst nightmare_," he whispered sibilantly, his eyes flashing blood-red from beneath his hood. The two patrons screamed at the sight and promptly fainted, foaming at the mouth.

The others watched, scared, as the hooded man pivoted on his heel and walked out of the bar. "Wimps. If you've got nothing nice to say, just keep your damn mouths shut or I'll shut them for you," he tossed back. Then he was gone.

Once the man felt he was a sufficient distance away from the bar, he dropped the serious façade and completely cracked up, clutching his gut as wild laughter spilled from his throat. The bystanders gave him a wide berth, thinking he was some kind of crazy who lost it in the middle of the street. Oh man, the looks on their faces! Scaring the batshit out of certain people always made for some _fantastic_ entertainment. Well, at least he thought so.

Once his chuckles subsided, he remembered what that whole deal had been about in the first place. The pink-haired boy with the white scarf had been looking for a dragon. Frankly, he hadn't realized they still existed after the whole chaotic fiasco that occurred about four hundred years ago. Children tended to be more blunt about things, and the conviction in the boy's voice convinced the man that the boy really believed he'd been raised by a dragon. He straightened and decided to track the boy down so he could speak to him.

It didn't take long to find the boy, especially when he ran around punching people who refused to believe him, accidentally destroying parts of his surroundings as well. He should take the boy and get out of here before the townspeople formed a mob and demanded monetary reparations.

"Hey kid! You with the scarf!" he called out, instantly catching the boy's attention.

"Yeah, what do you want?" the boy snarled rudely. "Are you gonna tell me dragons don't exist, too?!"

"On the contrary, I _know_ they exist," the hooded man replied cheerfully. The kid's eyes went round with excitement.

"You know where Igneel is?!" he asked eagerly, rushing up to the hooded stranger.

"Well, not exactly–" The kid visibly deflated, but the man continued, "–however, I _do_ know a way for you to get stronger while searching for him."

"You mean it, mister?" The enthusiasm radiating off the pink-haired boy was almost palpable. His small body was practically vibrating with anticipation. "Show me!"

The hooded man laughed. "We have to walk there, alright? Follow me," he said.

The boy fell into step beside him, giving no thought to the possibility that the man could be lying to him to lure him into a trap. He hummed noisily as he swung his arms about, "I'm gonna find Igneel~! I'm gonna find Igneel~!"

The man smiled under his hood at the boy's childishly joyful spirit. _Ah, the power of youth,_ he thought wistfully. He couldn't quite remember who said it first, just someone from way back in his generation who had been extremely green. Wasn't his name Broccoli or something like that? Ah, well, close enough.

"What's your name, by the way? I'm Natsu!" the boy introduced himself cheerfully.

"Oh, my name isn't important," said the man brightly. "You'll find out when we get there."

"Heeeh, are you scared? Of course you are, I'm the great Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer!" Natsu loudly boasted, thumbing at his chest.

The man chortled at the boy's sheer audacity and confidence. Natsu glared at him and stomped his foot on the ground, but all that did was make the man laugh harder. "Hey, are you doubting me?" Natsu shouted, encasing one of his fists in flames. "I'll show you the power of a Dragon Slayer! Raaaah!" He leaped towards the hooded man, letting out a war cry.

Much to his shock, the man blocked him without even trying, all the while still chuckling. Natsu quickly recovered and tried to strike with his right leg. The kick impacted the man's arm, but he didn't even budge. Starting to get frustrated, Natsu dropped to the ground to see if he could deal any damage to the man's legs. He yelped when the man picked him up by the scruff of his scarf before he could attack.

"Fiery one, aren't you?" asked the hooded man, ignoring the way Natsu flailed around in his grip.

"Lemme go, you bastard! I'll kill ya!" Natsu roared, swinging his limbs wildly in an attempt to do something, _anything_ to make the man let go of him. But his arms and legs were just too short to reach him. Curses!

"Fiesty! You know what, brat, I like you! You've got _spirit_," said the man, grinning. "How about you stop flailing now and let us be on our merry way? You do want to find Igneel, don't you?"

Natsu pouted, crossing his arms petulantly as he hung in the air. "Jerk," he grumbled.

"That's a good boy." The man set him down gently, readjusting the scarf around Natsu's neck. "Now let's go. I want to get there before nightfall."

The boy reluctantly followed after him, knowing that this strong stranger was currently his only lead. "Where are we going anyway? Are you gonna tell me or not?" he demanded.

"Have you ever heard of Fairy Tail, Natsu? That's where we're going," the man replied.

Natsu scrunched up his nose. "We're going to a fairy tale? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. "I don't get it."

The man chortled again. "No, not a fairy tale, Natsu. Fairy Tail is the name of a wizards' guild in Magnolia. _That's_ our destination," he corrected.

The Dragon Slayer's eyes began to sparkle. "A wizards' guild? How cool! You're strong, old man, so does that mean you're a mage from this Fairy Tail? If I go there, I bet I'll be as strong as you – no, I'm gonna be even _stronger!_ Hey, hey, look out, I'm gonna surpass you one day!" Natsu declared, punching a fiery fist into the air and conveniently forgetting that he had been annoyed with his travel companion not even five minutes prior.

"That's the spirit, chibi!" the hooded man said, patting the little boy on the head.

Natsu's eyes narrowed and flames gushed out of his mouth as he yelled loudly enough to be heard from the heavens, "I'M NOT A CHIBI!"

"Whoa there, firecracker, take it easy!" the hooded man exclaimed, waving his hands around.

Natsu was literally spitting fire as he glared _death_ at his companion. "I'm _not_ a chibi," he ground out harshly. "I'm a _Dragon Slayer_. I ain't no cutesy little thing that you can play around with! I'm strong and _fierce_, like a dragon!"

"I'm sure you're the absolute paragon of ferocity, firecracker," the man chuckled, attempting to calm down the fuming little boy.

"Aaarrgh, stop making fun of me! Bastard!" Natsu shouted, punching the tall man in the stomach, the only spot above the man's waist that he could reach. He yelped upon impact and quickly drew his hand away, cringing. So that wasn't the brightest idea he's ever had – punching the man's stomach felt like punching a solid steel wall.

"Yeah, don't do that, okay? You're just going to hurt yourself that way," the man advised sagely.

Natsu blew him a raspberry.

The man just brushed it off with a laugh and held out his hand. "Let's go, Natsu," he said gently. "To your new home."

"I'm not a baby, you jerk," Natsu grumbled, but he took the man's hand anyway. The strength and warmth radiating from the man's hand made him feel safe and secure, sort of like how Igneel made him feel. And as they walked off in the direction where the guild waited, the pink-haired boy found that he didn't feel quite as lonely as he did before.

* * *

**Year X782**

"N! Come out and fight me like a man!" roared Natsu, bursting into the guild. It was a testimony to how often he did this that only one person sprayed beer out of their mouth when he charged in unexpectedly. "Unless you're too scared to face me, hahaha!"

"Aye!" chirped Happy, a flying blue cat who had hatched from an egg Natsu had found four years ago. He followed Natsu in and landed on one of the tables, his magical white wings vanishing from his back as he stopped using Aera.

"That again, Natsu?" sighed Lisanna, sliding off the barstool she had been sitting on. "Whoever you're talking to isn't here, you know."

"Then it's my win by default! Hahahahaha!" Natsu crowed, spouting a small spurt of flames out of his mouth in excitement. "But I really want to fight him! Ahhh, I'm all fired up now!"

"Shut up, flame brain, no one wants to hear your lousy boasting," groused Gray, who once again had yet to notice that he had stripped down to his boxers.

Natsu turned to his archrival with an insulted expression. "Want to say that to my _face_, droopy eyes?" he challenged.

"I'll say it to you however I want, charcoal boy!"

"_Charcoal?!_ I'll show _you_ who's charcoal, ice stripper!"

"Bring it on, baby lizard!"

"You're going down, popsicle stick!"

Lisanna giggled at her friends' antics as they started throwing punches at each other like usual, all the while exchanging insults like it was going out of style. By now it was such a common occurrence that going a day without seeing them brawling it out on the floor seemed wrong.

Of course, whenever Natsu and Gray started fighting, the other members seemed to have some sense of obligation to chime in with their own opinions, thus beginning the usual Fairy Tail all-guild fight that ended the lives of many tables, chairs, and mugs.

"Man! If you're a man, fight with your fists!" shouted Elfman, thrusting a fist up into the air. "MANNN!"

"Shut up!" Natsu and Gray simultaneously yelled, punching the muscular mage to the other side of the beer hall. Then they glared at each other and started their own personal brawl anew.

"Noisy fools! Why can't you keep quiet and let a woman drink in peace, huh?!" Cana Alberona, a teenage mage with long, wavy, brown hair, snapped, slamming her barrel of alcohol down on the table.

In another part of the hall, Erza and Mirajane were also butting heads. "You want to fight, you flat-chested hag?!" spat Mirajane, slamming her forehead against Erza's.

"Bring it, you midriff-bearing cow!" Erza shot back, equally as fierce. Both of them fired up their auras as they struggled against each other in a contest of brute strength.

"The youngsters are at it again," sighed Wakaba, puffing on the pipe in his mouth. "Must be nice to be so young."

His long-time buddy Macao laughed with him, chugging down the beer in his mug. "I sure wish we were that young again! Ah, those were the good old days, weren't they?" he said.

"Boy, were they ever! In fact, d'you remember when–" Wakaba was interrupted as an empty mug flew out of nowhere and smashed into his head, making him topple off the bench and on to the ground, dazed.

"Wakaba! Oh, you youngsters did it now. Let me give you a taste of–"

"Nobody cares!" And Macao ended up being KO'ed by a single punch. He laid on the ground, mentally berating himself for his pathetic performance.

The guild fight continued on for another two minutes, before Makarov came out and ended it by growing into his Titan form and reprimanding all of them at once. The fighting stopped immediately.

After the mess was cleaned up and new tables were brought in, Natsu bounded up to Makarov with an excited look. "Jii-chan! Where's N? I want to fight him!"

"I'm not telling you, Natsu," Makarov sighed. "He's Fairy Tail's shadow guardian, he can't–"

"Yeah, yeah, can't show his face in public, blah blah blah," Natsu grumbled. "I still want to fight him! N! Come on out! I've gotten loads stronger since last time – urk!"

Makarov had slapped him upside the head with an enlarged hand, sending Natsu face-first into the floor. "He's not going to show up and break the laws of shadow guardianship just because you asked him to," the old guild master muttered, taking a large sip of his beer. "Stop making a ruckus and go do a mission." Natsu sat up, spitting splinters from his mouth, but before he could retort, he was interrupted.

"Natsu! Let's go fishing!" Happy said, walking over to them holding a fishing pole in his paws. "I want to eat fish!" His eyes started to sparkle as he imagined a big, juicy fish being served to him on a plate. Drool began to drip from the corner of his mouth.

"Ooh, that sounds like a great idea, Happy!" Natsu exclaimed, forgetting about N for the moment. He took the fishing pole from Happy and started to march out of the guild. "Yosh, let's go!"

"Aye sir!" the blue cat cheered, following his partner out the door.

Later, as the Take-Over Trio headed out on Mirajane's next S-class mission, they came upon Natsu and Happy pointedly ignoring each other as they sat underneath the tree in Magnolia's South Gate Park.

"What are you two fighting about now?" Lisanna asked, walking up to them.

"Natsu ate all of my fish!" Happy stated angrily. "Even though I was the one who invited him to go fishing!"

Natsu harrumphed, crossing his arms. "Not my fault you're so slow," he muttered.

"Natsu, you can't be like that," Lisanna chided gently. "Happy's our child, remember? You have to be a good father and make up with him."

Natsu's cheeks turned pink and he grumbled something under his breath. "Aw, are you blushing? How _cute,"_ Mirajane crooned.

"Shut up! I-I'm not blushing!" Natsu vehemently denied.

"He liiiiikes her," Happy purred, giggling.

"No, I don't! Stop saying it that way!" Natsu sputtered.

Lisanna laughed softly and laced her fingers behind her back. "That's better! I don't like it when you two ignore each other," she said, smiling. "Well, we have to go, so I'll see you later, Natsu, Happy."

Natsu perked up. "Wait, are you going on an S-class mission? Can I come?" he asked eagerly, leaping up from his spot.

Lisanna shook her head. "Sorry, Natsu. Elf-niichan and I are just going to support Mira-nee," she apologized.

"Besides, S-class missions are too dangerous for you right now. You're not ready yet," Mirajane added.

"That's not fair, I want to go on one, too!" Natsu complained. "Why do you get to go, Lisanna?"

"Heehee, well, we are siblings after all! Don't worry about it, Natsu, you'll definitely be an S-class mage one day! Then you can do S-class missions, too," Lisanna encouraged. "Bye now. See you when we get back!" She turned around to head out of the park with her brother and sister.

"Yeah, yeah, see you," Natsu grumbled, half-heartedly waving them off. Happy flew on to Natsu's head and waved goodbye to them from there.

When the trio vanished from sight, Natsu took Happy off his head and looked at him seriously. Happy gazed back, clearly confused. Natsu looked away briefly, muttering something unintelligible under his breath, then said, "Let's go fishing again. I'll save some for you this time."

Happy lit up with pure joy and he held a paw up in agreement, "AYE!"

Natsu grinned.

But just when everything seemed right again, the world shattered under their feet. Mirajane and Elfman returned from the mission, completely distraught and missing one member. Mirajane couldn't keep herself together long enough to tell them what happened, so Elfman had to do it.

Natsu stood stock still, whispering in disbelief, "Lisanna's… dead?" That couldn't be true. She'd told them she would see them when she got back! She couldn't die yet!

The guild hall was deathly quiet for once. The only sound that could be heard was Mirajane's uncontrollable sobbing. Elfman was also crying, one hand covering his face, as he repeated, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I couldn't control it… It's all my fault..."

Numb with shock, Natsu slowly turned around and walked out of the guild, Happy stumbling behind him. It was pouring outside, like the heavens themselves were mourning Lisanna's death. He couldn't feel it, just a peculiar chill seeping into his bones that even his fire couldn't warm. Lisanna was dead. She was _gone._ He wouldn't see her smile at him again, wouldn't hear her voice as she scolded him and Happy for their immature behavior. He wouldn't see her ever again, because she wasn't coming back. The dead couldn't come back to life.

It was like the color had seeped out of the world. Everything was wet and gray and dull, just like his heart felt. Natsu's feet automatically took him to the hut Lisanna had built when they had been hatching Happy's egg. He gazed upon it, unable to tell whether the moisture on his face was rain or tears. Even the hut looked like it had been leeched of life. He sank to the ground, clenching fistfuls of mud.

"Lisanna…" he cried. Angrily, he slammed a fist against the ground. "Damn it! I knew I should have gone! If I'd been there… if I'd gone, maybe she'd still be alive…"

"Lisanna," sobbed Happy, his paws clamped over his eyes. "Waaaah!"

A firm hand came down on Natsu's shoulder, jerking him out of his moment of self-reproach. He furiously scrubbed at his eyes before he looked up, the familiar name falling from his lips, "N…" His voice sounded thick and hoarse from crying.

Although he couldn't see N's face from underneath the black hood he had over his head, he could feel the support that N was lending him. Natsu swiftly stood up and hugged the other man, trying his hardest to hold back his tears and failing.

"It's alright to cry, Natsu," N soothed. "Let it all out."

"I should have gone with them," he wept. "Lisanna is… Lisanna's _dead_ now because I didn't…"

"You have no way of knowing what could have happened, Natsu," N said softly, rubbing circles on the pink-haired boy's back. "It's not your fault. Maybe she would have lived if you had gone. Maybe she still would have died. There's nothing you can do now, except to get stronger, so that you don't lose anyone again."

"I will! I'll get so strong that my name will burn the heavens down. I'll get stronger, _a lot stronger_, so that I don't lose anyone ever again!" Natsu howled, pulling away from N to scream his conviction aloud. "You hear that, God?! I'll make sure you don't steal anyone away from me ever again! I'll even become a _God Slayer_ if that's what it takes to protect my friends!"

"That's the way to do it, firecracker," N said softly, placing a hand on top of Natsu's head. Natsu sniffled, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"But N… you're the guild's shadow guardian, aren't you?" he murmured. "You could have gone after them, couldn't you? You could've saved Lisanna, right?!" Furious eyes still trailing tears at the edges glared at N. "Answer me, N!"

N sighed. "I may be Fairy Tail's shadow guardian, but I'm not omnipotent, Natsu. I can't do everything," he answered solemnly. "I don't have the power to see into the future. Even if I did, my role is to be Fairy's Tail's protector, not its babysitter."

"Damn it…" Natsu cursed, bowing his head. "Fuck this. Fuck _everything_. I'm going to train so hard that my roar will be heard from the other side of the world. For Lisanna!"

"I believe you can, Natsu. Just remember that you aren't alone. Lisanna will always be here–" He took Natsu's muddy hand and placed it over the pink-haired boy's heart, "–so never allow yourself to give into the darkness, alright? Don't allow your grief to consume you. Get stronger and protect your comrades with everything you have."

He let go of Natsu's hand and stepped back.

"Wait, N!"

N vanished, his last words echoing in the rain, "Believe in yourself, firecracker, and I'll believe in you, too."

Natsu stared at the spot where N had been, no longer crying. He clenched his fists. "I'll do it, N. Just watch me. I'll make the heavens roar with my fury," he vowed.

"Natsu…"

The pink-haired boy looked down at his feet, where Happy clung to his leg. Natsu scooped his partner up and let the cat rest on his head. "What's wrong, Happy?" he asked.

"…Was that the N guy you're always looking for?" Happy questioned.

"Yeah, that was him," Natsu replied. "Pretty cool, isn't he?"

"Yeah… we're going to be okay, aren't we, Natsu?" Happy sniffled, wiping away the last traces of tears from his face.

"We will be," Natsu replied resolutely, resting a hand on Happy's head. They both looked up as the rain stopped and the first rays of sunshine began to peek through the gray clouds. "I promise."

* * *

**Wow, a lot more people want me to keep NarutoxMavis than I expected. In that case, I'll change my mind and keep NarutoxMavis as an option. Keep in mind that this story is not meant to be romance-centric, so whatever fluff I put in will be small and not the main focus. Mavis doesn't appear till way later, anyways.**

**You guys are all wonderful, by the way. 2014 seems to be the year of fanfiction milestones for me. This is the first time I've gotten 200 follows for just the first chapter, and in only 2.5 days. Awesome-sauce.**

**Don't expect regular updates, I suck at that. Old readers, you know what's up. New readers, my update speed is usually crap. Seriously.**

**Please leave me a review on what you think! And vote, vote, vote!**

**...Although I am 99.9% sure that Mavis is going to win by a landslide since I'm making her available, haha. See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	3. Chapter 2: Phantom Fury

**I don't consider myself an amazing author, so when people tell me they like my work, it always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The second chapter, as always, had a smaller turnout than the first, but that's okay, because we reached 380 follows! In only 2 chapters! Why are you guys so amazing? Anyways, enjoy the next installment.**

* * *

**Living Shadow**

* * *

Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.

* * *

**Chapter Two – Phantom Fury**

* * *

**Year X686**

"Hey, N? Can I ask you something?"

N opened his eyes, turning his head to look down at the first guild master. "What is it?"

"Where do you stay during the night when everyone is away?" she asked curiously.

N laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I don't have a place here, so I just sleep on the roof," he responded.

"What? That's not a good place to sleep, N," she argued. "It's got to be cold and windy up there! And roof tiles can't be comfortable to nap on, either."

"I've slept in worse conditions before. A few roof tiles and a baby breeze don't bother me," he replied, leaning casually against the wall.

"No, no, that won't do," muttered Mavis, standing up. She crouched down and opened the bottom drawer of the desk, shuffling through the files neatly organized and stored in cream-colored folders. She drew out a large piece of paper, folded into quarters. N leaned over to examine it as she spread it out on top of the desk.

"Is this Fairy Tail's original blueprint?" he queried, his eyes roaming over every detail of the blue map.

Mavis smoothed out the fold-lines on the blueprint so she could see it better. "It is," she answered. "I kept it in case we needed to make any changes or major repairs in the future. I didn't think we would need to make a change this soon, though."

N gave her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about? Why make a change when you just built the guild?" he asked.

Mavis looked up at him, a frown set on her face. "It would be remiss of me as Fairy Tail's guild master to allow one of my members to sleep in such unsavory conditions. Therefore, I'm sure we can find a spot on this blueprint to add in a private room for you," she explained, waving her hand over the map.

"You don't have to do that, Mavis-chan," N protested quickly. "I said sleeping on the roof doesn't bother me."

"No, you can't!" Mavis said, raising herself to her full height. It would have been a comical sight, a petite slip of a girl glaring up at a man who cleared the six-foot mark, if not for the seriousness of the situation. "Listen here, N, if you want to be a good shadow guardian, you have to start thinking of Fairy Tail as your new family. And as a family, we take care of each other, right?"

N nodded slowly. "But you know I–" he began.

Mavis stamped her foot on the floor. "I don't care about that right now!" she cried, feeling uncharacteristically frustrated. "N, you have to understand that Fairy Tail is supposed to be a big family, and a place that you can return to and call 'home'. You're not protecting a building, you're protecting a _guild._" She pointed her finger at his face, making him blink at her in surprise. "Promise me, N. Promise me that you'll start thinking of Fairy Tail as your new family."

Memories of his original 'family' – his parents, his friends from his homeland, the village that he lived in, his former fellow _jinchuuriki_ – passed through his mind. The memories had eroded over the years, only tiny, significant fragments still holding out strong in his head. Then came bits and pieces from various years after the Elemental Nations fell to ruin, of people he had met, bonded with, fought with, and watched die. She wanted Fairy Tail to be his family, but how could it be when he was immortal, a relic from a time long past? All the 'family' he's ever had had already been cruelly ripped away from him by time. Labeling the guild with such a term would only hurt him in the long run. He shook his head.

"I can't, Mavis," he told her solemnly. "I won't promise something that I know I won't be able to keep."

Hearing her name without a suffix tagged onto it let her know that he was serious. Her eyes fell. "Why not, N?" she asked quietly, her hand dropping back to her side. "Is it because of how old you are?"

"Something like that. I'm _old_, little lady. Far older than you are," he replied, turning to look out the window. "I can't have a family. I'll just outlive every single one of them. I can't let myself get attached, because it'll just mean more pain for me in the end."

He didn't turn around when he heard the soft rustling of Mavis' dress behind him, but he did start when small arms wrapped around his waist. He felt Mavis whisper against his cloak, "You don't have to be alone, N – no, Naruto. I don't know how old you are, and I'll keep guessing until I get it right, but you've probably been really lonely, right? Well, not anymore. I'll make sure of it. Fairy Tail will become your new family, you'll see."

N stayed silent, staring out the window at the enormous lake that Magnolia had been built next to. Small waves lapped softly at the edge of the mini-beach. The sun was high in the sky, turning the sky a brilliant shade of baby-blue that was eclipsed only by a few lazy clouds. Fishermen were out on their boats, catching their meals for the day. Every now and then, a bird swooped out of the sky and plunged its beak into the water, pulling up with a wriggling silvery fish in its mouth. All in all, it seemed like a fairly normal day, but to someone like N, who had spent the majority of his long lifetime fighting in one battle after another, the peace found in Magnolia seemed like a dream come true. Maybe it was time to let go, after all.

He exhaled slowly, one of his hands moving up to rest on her arms. "…I can't promise anything," he finally answered. "But for the sake of my own sanity, I will try."

Mavis' arms tightened around him briefly. "Thank you, Naruto," she mumbled into his cloak. She stepped back, and smiled brightly at him when he turned around. "Now let's find a place to make a room for you." She bounced back to her desk and patted the blueprint.

N held up a hand. "That won't be necessary," he said. "I don't need a full-size room. Something small will be enough."

"Are you sure? You're a pretty big guy," Mavis asked, nibbling on her lower lip.

"What, you don't trust me, little lady? I'm hurt," N said, faking an insulted expression.

Mavis scowled. "N! I'm trying to be serious here," she whined, smacking a hand down on the blueprint. "Come on, at least help me figure out where to put you!"

N laughed. "So impatient, little lady," he teased, leaning over the desk again to look at the blueprint. "At this rate, you'll never find a boyfriend."

"Hey, are you making fun of me?" Mavis cried, narrowing her eyes at the grinning blonde. "N!"

"I'm just kidding around, little lady. You need some humor to lighten up your life!" N replied cheerfully. "If you frown all the time, your face might be permanently stuck that way, you know!"

"What? No, it won't! Stop trying to scare me, N!"

"But it's more fun this way, don't you agree?"

"No, I don't. Hey, quit it! What're you doing with that? Give it back!"

"You'll have to catch me first, little lady!"

As the two bantered back and forth, the serious mood completely vanished from the office, like it had never existed in the first place. But their talk wouldn't be forgotten, and, years later, N would realize that maybe he had finally found the right place after all.

* * *

**Year X784**

N rested quietly in a hidden alcove adjacent to the guild master's office. Hand-drawn paper seals camouflaged the opening to prevent it from being seen by the people in the guild. The alcove had been Mavis' final solution to solve the problem of N sleeping outside on the guild's roof. It was a small room, only big enough for a bed, a desk, and a small closet, but it was enough for N. He didn't need anything fancy, just a place for him to sleep.

He heard a strange noise outside, like the sound of steel hitting the ground. Silently, he stood up, sliding his mask over his face. He melted into the shadows, traveling instantly to the rooftop so he could get a full 360 degree view of the city. He appeared just in time to witness a huge iron rod being hurled towards the guild at full speed.

Reacting quickly, he used the Light Pen in his pocket to draw a seal in the air. "Barrier Seal: Activate!" A thick wall of purple light flared to life around the guild. The iron rod impacted with it a split-second later, ricocheting off the barrier with a loud clanging sound that reverberated through the street. The iron rod crashed into a building diagonally across from Fairy Tail, causing its fire alarms to blare piercingly. Thankfully it appeared to be vacant of people. Not wasting a moment, N summoned five shadow clones to aid him.

"You two, go after whoever is attacking the guild," he ordered to the two clones on his left. They both saluted to him and jumped to the nearby roof, rapidly descending to the ground.

He heard someone below exclaim, "What the hell?!" _Gotcha._

"He's at two o'clock, fifty yards ahead!" he shouted to his clones.

"We know, boss!" They had already changed course and converged on the adversary. A loud curse, followed by the sound of metal versus metal, indicated that his clones had engaged the enemy.

N nodded, then turned to his other three clones. "You, go silence the alarms from that building. We don't need citizens getting involved in this," he said to the left-most clone.

"Yes, sir!" The clone took off running for the building, his hands already flashing through the hand seals for a water jutsu to put out the fire that began to blaze up from within.

"You two are going to help me set up more seals around the perimeter in case there are more enemies," N told the last two clones. "You both should have a Light Pen with you. You know what to do. But hurry!"

His clones nodded and leaped away to do their assigned duty. N turned his attention back to the battle being waged between the hidden opponent and his other clones. His battle clones were starting to overwhelm the enemy, it looked like. But a moment later, he was hit by a rush of memories. The enemy had gotten in a lucky shot right to the face, and dispelled one of the clones. The other one was still going strong.

From his clone's memories, he learned that the opponent was a young man with wild, spiky sable hair that reached down to his waist. He had slanted red eyes and multiple piercings on his face and his arms. He wore a studded waistcoat with a black, wing-like adornment attached over his right breast, white pants, and studded black boots. The man's attacks were rather interesting, because he could turn his limbs into iron weapons and extend them to attack. His footwork wasn't too shabby either. Given the nature of his attacks, it also appeared that his defensive capabilities were much more advanced than most people's tended to be. That was the extent of the analysis that the clone had performed before he had been dispelled.

Heh, the guy wasn't half-bad. The fact that he hadn't already been defeated and dragged back to N by his other clone said something about the man's fighting abilities.

The fire alarms went blissfully silent at last. N grimaced as he rubbed his ear. He hated alarms; they always grated on his nerves because of his sensitive hearing.

Having done his duty, the lone clone he had sent to take care of the building returned to the guild's rooftop.

"Thanks," N said, clapping a hand on the clone's right shoulder. "Those alarms were getting annoying."

The clone scowled behind his mask. "I had to get up close and personal with them, so don't blame me if your ears are still ringing when I dispel," he told N. "But aside from that, what's the plan now? Want me on evacuation duty?"

N surveyed the street, noticing that there were a few people coming out of their homes, wondering what all the ruckus was. "Yeah. Make sure those citizens are safe. I don't want them mixed up in this fight. I'll send some guys down after you to help."

His clone nodded. "Got it, boss!" he said, saluting. The clone descended to the street and swiftly made his way over to the people. N created an extra three shadow clones to help the lone clone out.

The Barrier Seal he had written in the air suddenly flared with a violent purple light. A rectangular, prism-like barrier shimmered into existence, completely encompassing Fairy Tail in all its shiny, translucent purple glory. Fairy Tail was now untouchable to most physical attacks and magic spells.

"We're finished, boss," the clones he had sent to set up the other Barrier Seals said, landing on the rooftop beside him. "All anchor points have been secured."

"Excellent," said N proudly. They both gave him a thumbs-up. "But someone might try to erase the anchor point seals, so I want you two to each guard one point. I'll send another clone out to guard the third one."

"Yes, boss!"

As soon as they leaped away, a gray funnel shot into the air from the direction where his battle clone had the enemy engaged. The clone had enough sense to dodge the deadly attack, but it clipped him on the shoulder. Muttering something under his breath, the clone rebounded off the nearest wall and rocketed towards his opponent again, this time forming a spiraling blue sphere of chakra in his right palm.

"_Rasengan!"_

A huge cloud of debris erupted as the swirling chakra ball impacted with his opponent and sent him flying into the building behind him. The building collapsed with a thunderous roar as the man broke through several of the building's supports, causing the top part to become unbalanced and fall forward.

The clone sweatdropped at the damage. "I guess I went overboard… sorry, boss," the clone said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Then an iron rod blasted a hole through the collapsed part of the building and his opponent crawled out, panting heavily. His skin was covered by a hard, metallic sheen reminiscent of a dragon's scales, and he was chewing noisily on some scraps of iron from the building. When he was done, the man glared at the N clone and snarled, "I'm not finished yet, you bastard blonde! Iron Dragon's _Roar!"_

The same gray whirlwind from before spewed out of the enemy's mouth, heading straight towards the clone. "Ah shit," the clone sighed. "Thought I took you out already."

He took the Light Pen out of his pocket and was prepared to draw a seal to deflect his opponent's attack back at him, but he suddenly found himself on the rooftop, the pen still outstretched. "What the hell – that bastard!" the clone cried, realizing that N had switched with him. "He was my opponent, damn it! Fuck you, original!" He flipped the bird in the direction where the battle was now being waged between the original N and the enemy.

N grinned, his sharp hearing catching his clone's swearing. He nimbly sidestepped the attack, letting it roar past him. Then he leaped forward, smashing a perfect right-hook into his opponent's face. It definitely stung a bit because the man's skin was hard as steel, but the blow still made the black-haired man reel back in pain.

It was the perfect opportunity. N drew two fingers down the markings on his arm, grabbing the scroll that popped out. "Nighty-night, little Dragon Slayer!" he sang, opening the scroll and writing a seal in the air. The man's eyes widened in panic and he barely had time to say "fuck!" before he vanished into the scroll.

N hummed cheerily as he resealed the scroll back into the storage markings on his arm. "One Dragon Slayer to go," he said. N then leaped back up to the guild's rooftop to assess the damage. The building that the iron rod had landed on was definitely busted. So were the buildings in the area where his clones had fought the wild brunet. Several apartments had been damaged, too. But it looked like his other clones had done what they were supposed to and evacuated all the people out of the immediate area so they didn't get caught in the crossfire. N nodded. Not too bad, considering Fairy Tail tended to cause mass property damage wherever they went, anyway.

"What happened here? Who are you and what are you doing to the guild?!" A distinctly female voice shouted up at him from the street below.

N looked down, where a fuming eighteen-year old woman with long, wavy chocolate-brown hair stood, her cards clenched in one hand. He signaled for his clones to dispel because the fight was over and made his way down to the street. The woman slid one of her feet back and whipped out a few cards, snarling, "Don't come any closer! Answer me or I will blast you into the next century!"

"Easy there, princess," N said, holding up his hands. "I can explain. Long story or short?"

"Just hurry up and tell me who the hell you are and what that purple _thing_ around my guild is!" the magic card user barked.

"Short story it is. Sheesh, women are so impatient sometimes," N muttered, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "To put it bluntly, I just saved your guild from being demolished in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, right, I wasn't born yesterday, you know," the woman scoffed.

"It's true. This purple thing you're referring to is actually a Four-Point Barrier that I activated to keep your guild safe from any attacks. See that iron rod over there?" N asked, pointing towards the busted building. "The barrier I set up deflected that thing. Otherwise your guild would resemble a pincushion by now."

The woman was still eyeing him suspiciously. "And where is the guy who did it, hmm?" she drawled. "The only enemy I see here… is you!" Three cards flashed in front of her. "Heaven, Reverse Death, Mountain – I summon lightning!"

Green lightning bolts struck at N from above. N sidestepped the attack with ease. "I'm not lying, you know. There'd be no point. If you want proof, you'll need to ask Makarov-san to be here. I've already captured the man who attacked the guild, but I'd rather not let him out right now," N said, chuckling. "He's rather volatile."

"Why would you defend the guild? I've never seen you before, so you aren't a Fairy Tail wizard. Tell me your name," the woman demanded. She held two cards between her fingers, ready to fly at a moment's notice.

"I'm not at liberty to say that, unfortunately. You'll have to ask Makarov-san," N replied pleasantly. Inwardly, he was just wishing that the woman would stop being so suspicious. Do one good thing and end up in a pile of shit a mile high. Well, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions… "But if you want proof, then look here." He tapped a finger against the black Fairy Tail guild insignia stamped on his chest.

The woman gasped. She lowered her cards. "That's – but how? I've never seen you before. You're a Fairy Tail wizard?" she asked incredulously.

"I'm not a Fairy Tail _wizard_, per se," said N, scratching the back of his head. "But yes, I am a part of Fairy Tail. Believe me, I mean no harm to our guild."

The woman studied him carefully. "Take off your mask," she quietly commanded. "Let me take a good look at your face. Maybe I'll remember you if you do."

N shook his head. "You won't, I can guarantee it. There's a reason why I'm wearing a mask at all. What you want to know, you will have to ask Makarov-san. He may or may not answer you, though. I know I can't," he replied. "After all, that would be a breach of my contract."

"Contract? What contract?"

"Just ask Makarov-san. If you'll excuse me, I would like to sleep now, so good night." N vanished into the shadows before he could hear the woman's reply. Truthfully, he wasn't tired at all. He just wanted to get away from the nosy woman. He could understand that she was just trying to defend her guild from a potential enemy, but for heaven's sake, he had been protecting Fairy Tail for longer than she'd been _alive._

He made it back to his alcove in record time. He unsealed the scroll that he had stored the enemy in and placed it on the chair at his desk. He slapped down a Gravity Seal, a Binding Seal, and a Nerve-Numbing Seal in triangular formation around the scroll. Satisfied that the three together should hold the man prisoner long enough to interrogate him, he released the seal on the scroll. The wild-haired Dragon Slayer popped out of the scroll with a gasp, falling onto the chair with a heavy thump.

N smirked when the man realized that he couldn't move. He loomed over the other man with a demonic glint in his eye, although the effect didn't have as much impact since he still had his mask over his face. To his credit, the man didn't show an ounce of fear in his body language, only a smidgen in his eyes.

"What do you want, you Fairy trash?" the man spat, looking enraged.

"You, my friend, are going to give me some answers," N said, smiling creepily behind his mask. Some of his ominous aura must have leaked out, because his prisoner suddenly looked a lot more wary. His eyes turned crimson, much to the man's horror, and began to gleam with an unholy light. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you… much."

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and early. As the sun began to ascend in the sky, bestowing the first rays of its golden light upon the city of Magnolia, it should have been a perfectly normal day. But it wasn't.

The havoc wrecked upon the city the night before had taken its toll. The building that had been smashed into kindling by the iron rod turned out to be a very important insurance company for home owners. Had their building not been damaged, they could have been covering construction costs for rebuilding some of the citizens' homes. But as it stood, with the fire damage and financial losses for their own company as a result of the destruction to their building, they were in no position to help the citizens. This made for some very angry Magnolians, especially the ones who had lost their homes to the previous night's battle.

Obviously, all of this damage was blamed on Fairy Tail, the rowdiest and most destructive guild that existed in their area. When Makarov found out, he froze in front of the guild and began to cry loudly about how the Council was probably going to come and put him in jail because of this.

"Master!" The diminutive guild master turned watery eyes towards one of his guild members, Cana Alberona. The half-naked woman marched up to him, wearing an unusually serious face. She stopped in front of him, biting her lip absently as she struggled to think of what to say. "Master, I met someone… strange, last night. He's the one who put this purple thing around the guild," she said, gesturing to the gently-shimmering barrier that was still visible against the bright sky. "He told me to ask you if I wanted answers. So give it to me straight: who the hell is he?"

_Must've been N…_ thought the old guild master. _No one else can do something like this._

"Did he have a black Fairy Tail mark on his chest?" Makarov asked. He had to be certain before he could think of how to explain N's presence to Cana.

"Yeah, it was right over his heart," Cana replied.

"I see. Will you tell me what you saw last night, Cana? I'd like to know what happened around here yesterday to cause all this damage," Makarov requested, glancing around at the ruined buildings. What had N done to cause this much destruction to the city?

Cana folded her arms over her chest, causing her significantly large breasts to pop out even more, to Makarov's secret delight. "I didn't see the whole thing. I woke up because I heard the sound of something crashing and it was extremely loud. I looked out of my window and saw this barrier thing over Fairy Tail, and rushed over as quickly as I could because I thought it was under attack. When I got there, someone was standing on the roof, and I confronted him. He's the one I want to know about, Master. Who is he?" she asked. "The thing I'm most confused about is how he is a Fairy Tail member when I don't ever recall seeing him around. Is he like Mystogan?"

Makarov reached up and stroked his mustache. "Something like that," the elderly guild master answered. "None know his true name, but we – that is, the former guild masters of Fairy Tail and I – have always referred to him by his alias: _N."_

"N? Wait a second, you mean he's the guy Natsu's always running his mouth off about? _That_ N?" Cana exclaimed, incredulous.

"The very same, I wager," Makarov confirmed, turning to look at the glowing barrier around his beloved guild. "Have you ever heard of the term 'shadow guardian', Cana?"

The alcohol-addicted mage shook her head. "A shadow guardian? What's that?" she questioned.

"It is an ancient partnership made between a person and a guild. The person will become the guild's 'shadow' – meaning they will be the guild's secret guardian behind the scenes – and therefore are not allowed to reveal their name or face to anyone except the guild master or succeeding guild master once the contract has been accepted. The shadow guardian's natural longevity and durability is boosted to help them support their chosen guild better. The partnership usually lasts until the guardian dies or is freed by the current guild master. N is a bit of a special case, though that's all I can say about the matter. His secrets are not mine to reveal," Makarov explained.

"So that's what he meant when he told me he wasn't allowed to give me his name," Cana muttered, looking contemplative. She also turned to look up at the guild, watching as the translucent barrier rippled gently in the breeze. Her lips quirked into a brief smile. Last night, the barrier had seemed ghostly and evil in the darkness of the night. But during the day, it looked rather pretty, its shimmering surface reminding her of a sheet of sheer fabric swaying on a clothesline.

"Master!" Makarov pivoted on his heel when he heard someone call for him.

Levy, followed by Jet and Droy, approached the guild. "Master, what happened to the guild?" Levy asked, stopping in front of the old guild master. "I heard some noise last night, but I thought it was just a dream."

"You weren't dreaming," Makarov answered grimly. "Fairy Tail was attacked last night."

"Our guild was attacked?" Levy gasped, alarmed. "Why?"

"And what's this weird-looking thing around it?" Jet inquired, perplexed. He tried to poke it. To his disappointment, his finger just went through.

"Don't worry about it, it's a barrier to keep our guild safe from harm," Cana replied, giving her fellow guild members a small smile. "At least none of us were hurt during last night's attempt."

"What guild would be cowardly enough to launch an attack on us when we're absent?" Makarov snorted, walking forward. "Fools! They are not worth our time. Guild wars are forbidden by the Council, anyway." He walked through the barrier and headed into the guild.

"Well, if the Master says so, that's that," Cana said, shrugging. "Come on, let's get the day started. I'm ready to guzzle some alcohol." She stalked into the guild.

Casting one last glance at the purple barrier shimmering softly in the morning light, Team Shadowgear followed after her.

* * *

N looked up when the third guild master finally entered the office. "Good morning, Makarov-san," he greeted, stepping out from the shadows. Makarov jumped a little, having not expected anyone to be in the office when he came in.

"N," he returned, walking over to his chair. "Do you have answers for me?"

"Indeed I do. Although I also have the perpetrator with me if you wish to speak to him yourself," N replied, summoning his scroll. He placed the scroll on Makarov's desk.

"That will not be necessary if you've already interrogated him," said Makarov, seating himself in the chair and looking every inch the wise old guild master that he was. He laced his fingers together on top of the desk. "Now, please tell me what you've learned."

"The perpetrator's name is Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer from a guild called Phantom Lord. The intention behind last night's attack was to provoke a response from Fairy Tail, so that Phantom Lord can instigate a war and show us that their guild is superior," N reiterated. "Their other objective is to capture Lucy Heartfilia, a request from her father. Fairy Tail just happened to be in the way, which is one reason why it was targeted."

"Phantom Lord, huh…" mused Makarov, leaning back in his seat. He looked upset at the thought of his precious guild being attacked, especially when one of the members in particular was the target. "That troublesome Jose doesn't know when to quit."

"Would you like me to take care of them?" N inquired, picking his scroll back up and storing it away. "I'll make sure they don't bother us again. And I can return their Dragon Slayer while I'm at it."

"No, N. We will not be the ones to start the war," Makarov replied grimly. "Keep him in the scroll for now. We don't need to give them their ace back."

N smirked behind his mask. "As you wish, Makarov-san."

Makarov hopped out of his seat. "You can go now, N," he said, dismissing the shadow guardian with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to get a beer. I'll call for you if something comes up."

N bowed, silently slipping back into the shadows of the room. He traveled back to his alcove to plan out his next move. By now, the guild master of Phantom Lord was most likely aware that something had happened to his Dragon Slayer, and as such he would probably send more people to deal with the issue and get Gajeel back. Unfortunately for those poor suckers, even if they somehow miraculously got their hands on the scroll, he was the only one who could release the Dragon Slayer from it. Ha, serves them right for trying to bring down _his_ guild.

He paused.

He really had thought that, hadn't he? _His_ guild. It was just as Mavis predicted – over the years, Fairy Tail had slowly wormed its way into his heart despite his attempts to maintain some distance from it. He let an exasperated smile grace his face as he sat down on his chair. There was no helping it, he supposed. That's the way Fairy Tail was.

He pulled out a sheet of paper from one of the desk drawers and started to map out the area. If Phantom Lord was going to launch a second attack, they wouldn't send just a single person to do it. There were a few ways to approach Fairy Tail. First of all, the streets of Magnolia. They were all entirely straight and either went vertical or horizontal on a map. He scribbled a few arrows on his make-shift map to indicate the direction of the streets. They were created this way so that the city could transform into its Gildarts Shift at a moment's notice. Phantom Lord members could converge on Fairy Tail from there, although it wouldn't be considered an ideal plan of attack because the city's buildings were in the way. He'd call that method the 'front door' approach. Though if Phantom Lord planned an ambush instead, employing guerrilla tactics to pick off Fairy Tail members one by one, Magnolia would be the perfect battlefield.

N drew a large oval behind Fairy Tail, indicating the position and approximate size scale of Lake Sciliora to the city. If Phantom Lord had a ship or some other means of transportation to cross the lake, they could engage Fairy Tail on the mini-beach. That would be the 'back door' approach, and that place would be slightly trickier to defend because of the sand. The softer ground would hinder both guilds' movements, unless Phantom Lord chose to attack using long-distance weaponry and magic.

The last, but least likely option would be by air. A flying ship could drop bomb lacrima and attack Fairy Tail that way, although the city of Magnolia would also be involved. However, Gajeel had kindly informed him that no, their guild "can't fucking _fly",_ so that method was out of the picture.

The most advantageous approach for them would be to attack from the back. So he would need to reinforce the anchor seal at the north point and add in some other seals to keep the guild safe. He hadn't been able to get Gajeel to tell him everything, so he could only speculate on a plan of attack at the moment. He scribbled an X at the north anchor point for the Barrier Seal and drew a triangle that linked it with the two hind corners of the guild. If he could create a Deflector there, then –

Suddenly he heard it – a low rumble that lightly shook the guild. It was like something extremely heavy was causing the earth to tremble. N frowned, and decided to go back up to the roof to check on the disturbance. The shaking got worse. That didn't bode well for the guild.

N teleported to the roof, gazing first over Magnolia, then out to Lake Sciliora. His eyes narrowed at the gargantuan contraption that was slowly moving through the water towards the guild. As he expected, Phantom Lord was taking the back door approach. He just hadn't thought that they would arrive so soon. There was no time to waste, then. He had to get that Deflector up, pronto.

He summoned two shadow clones and directed them to the appropriate corners. "We're setting up the Trinity Formation," he commanded. "Hurry, we have less than three minutes before they get here!"

"Yes, sir!" The clones saluted, jumping off the roof and moving towards their respective corners.

As N prepared to link the Trinity Formation to the north anchor point of the Barrier Seal to form a Deflector over Fairy Tail's backside, he saw Makarov and other members of the guild running on to the mini-beach. Even from this distance, he could see their shocked faces. Swearing softly under his breath, he worked as quickly as he could. He needed to keep Fairy Tail safe. How could he ever face Mavis again if he allowed her beloved guild to be destroyed?

N looked up sharply as the giant, mechanical guild halted in the distance. Something began to jut out of the front – a long, gleaming steel barrel for firing something that even his Deflector and Four-Point Barrier Seal combined might not be able to defend against. This was problematic; he hadn't anticipated that Phantom Lord would have such a powerful weapon in their arsenal. He was going to have to deal with this bitch himself.

He summoned a clone to take his place in concatenating the Trinity Formation and the Barrier Seal and prepared to join his fellow guild members on the beach. The cannon began to glow as a sphere of dark energy formed at the end of the barrel.

"Shit!" N swore. He didn't have time to set something up to help him. This was going to _hurt._

"Everyone, get back!" He heard a female voice shout loudly from below. His eyes widened when he beheld Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard requipping into her toughest defensive armor, the Adamantine Armor. She combined the two swords in her hands to create a huge shield, which she slammed into the sand in front of her. _Foolish girl!_

The cannon fired.

N leaped off the roof. "Get out of the way!" he roared.

The woman yelped in surprise when he landed on the ground and shoved her out of the line of fire. "Hey! What are you doing?!" she yelled as she tumbled into the sand, her heavy armor kicking up a large cloud of dust.

N ignored her and closed his eyes. _Kurama, my old friend… lend me your power!_

A golden cloak made of pure energy enveloped his body. He held out his arms, spread his feet, and braced himself for the impact, only hearing Makarov's horrified cry of _"N!"_ before the blast struck.

* * *

**And that's a wrap, folks. Aren't cliffhangers fun? *shot* Anyways, I wanted to try something different. I don't think I've read a single crossover that has Naruto confronting Gajeel during his initial attack on the guild. So yeah, hope you liked it.**

**Mavis is kicking everybody's asses in the poll, by the way.**

**Please leave a review on what you think! I had hoped to pass 100 with the last chapter, but that didn't happen. Come on, guys, show some spirit!**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


	4. Chapter 3: Hear the Fairies Roar

**I would like to thank all of you wonderful people out there who enjoy and support this story. In just three chapters, we've gotten 150+ reviews, 16K+ views, 460+ favs, and 580+ follows. That's absolutely phenomenal to me. A lot of the reviews made me laugh and instantly made my day brighter. Some of you guys pointed out a couple things about the previous chapter that I hadn't even considered. So thank you very much, keep on being amazing, and I'll be trying my best to continue making this story a pleasure to read.**

* * *

**Living Shadow**

* * *

Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.

* * *

**Chapter Three – Hear the Fairies Roar**

* * *

**Year X784**

"_N!"_

He had faced down three megalomaniacs hell-bent on enslaving the world, and won.

"_Fight it, N!"_

He had suffered through the agony of having the Kyuubi ripped away from him, and survived.

"_Hang in there, N!"_

He had stared down the fiery, gaping maws of dragons, and prevailed.

"_Don't you dare give up, N! I'll kick your ass if you do!"_

He had gone toe-to-toe against the darkest, most malevolent mage to exist in Earthland, and _lived._

"**Raaaaah!"**

Compared to all the shit he had gone through in the entirety of his 934 years in existence, this puny beam felt like a hotter, but weaker version of one of Tsunade-baachan's affectionate finger flicks. Compared to all the fighting, the battles, the pain, the deaths, the blood, sweat, and tears he had shed – this… was… _NOTHING!_

The golden chakra cloak he wore around his body expanded according to his will, forming thin, crisscrossing strands that anchored him to the sandy ground. A pair of thick chakra arms bloomed out of his back, humming gleefully as if they were sentient. N directed them to clamp onto the sides of the Jupiter blast, grunting as he fought to keep himself steady. The blast sizzled angrily, its tiny discharges zipping across his exposed skin.

He felt a pair of armored hands press firmly against his back. "I don't know who you are, but you seem to be giving your all to protect our guild," the person behind him murmured in a low voice. "That's good enough for me. Fairy Tail will help you, too." N guessed that she was probably the red-haired woman who he had pushed aside earlier. At least she was willing to help him instead of bashing his head in, like he imagined his old pink-haired teammate would have done.

Mere moments later, Makarov's voice rang out, seeming to resonate with every mage on the beach, "Go, Fairy Tail wizards! Show them what we are made of! Show them that we are not afraid! Show them that we will fight for our comrades down to our very last breath! Because we are… _FAIRY TAIL!"_ A deafening cheer rose up behind N, all of the Fairy Tail mages' voices uniting into a single, defiant cry. They surged forward to support him, each of them linking together to push against the Jupiter blast. Surrounded by their friends – their family – Fairy Tail faced down Jupiter as one, indivisible entity.

N smiled under his mask. _Are you watching, Mavis-chan? Look at what Fairy Tail has become…_

"Thank you for your support, Fairy Tail mages," he said, his voice rising above the din the guild members were making. "But I can handle it from here. Save your strength for the real battles." He sent out a light pulse of chakra that pushed them away from him. The ones caught off-guard fell into the sand in a pile of flailing limbs, yelping.

"What the hell was that for, N?!" Natsu yelled as he sat up, spitting sand out of his mouth. "I'm _so_ gonna kick your ass later!"

N tuned him out and took a deep breath, concentrating all his attention on getting rid of the Jupiter blast that threatened to demolish the guild. "Secret Shinobi Art: _Grand Galaxy Slicer!"_ he thundered, shooting out more threads from his chakra cloak. While his chakra arms compressed and twisted the energy beam, the individual strands weaved around it, shredding the whole beam as if it was nothing more than paper. The small light particles twinkled in the sunlight, giving off the illusion that they were tiny falling stars raining down from the heavens. In a matter of seconds, the Jupiter blast was completely decimated, its remaining fragments vanishing with the wind.

N exhaled slowly, straightening back up. His golden chakra cloak faded away, having fulfilled its purpose. There, that was one problem taken care of. He turned around to give Makarov a thumbs-up.

There was complete and utter silence as all the members of Fairy Tail stared at N, slack-jawed. N sweatdropped. Did he go overboard with his display of power? He looked at Natsu, who had sparkles in his eyes.

"That was so _cool!"_ the Fire Dragon Slayer gushed, breaking everyone out of their momentary funk. "I definitely want to fight you when this is over! Ahhh, I'm all fired up now!"

N chuckled at his enthusiasm. He was about to tell Natsu 'no' when, with an ominously loud crack, his mask split right down the middle. With a sense of doomed finality, a network of spider web cracks spread all across the mask, shattering it.

N teleported out of sight before anyone could catch a glimpse of his true face. He reappeared on the guild's roof, summoning a spare mask from the seals on his left arm to replace the one that just broke. _That was a close call. I could've fooled them with a Transformation Jutsu, but I think it will be more beneficial at the moment if they don't see my face at all. Judging by the events that are being set into motion, something big is going to happen very soon,_ he thought, looking at the Phantom Lord guild in the distance. That Jupiter blast didn't compare to a full-strength Tailed Beast Ball, but it spelled big trouble for the Fairy Tail mages. Something with that much magical power was nothing to sniff at, although gathering enough energy needed to fire a full-power blast would definitely take some time. He'd say ten minutes at the very least. Considering they had just fired, they would need to recharge its power source. Now would be the best time for Fairy Tail to begin its counterattack.

He summoned a clone to inform Makarov to take action while they still had the chance. He'd sit out of the fight for now. Makarov still had the tri-prong kunai with him, so if they really needed his help, he'd go. But as he had told Natsu before, he was Fairy Tail's guardian, not its babysitter. Those brats could handle things themselves – they didn't need him to hold their hands for them. That wasn't his job. Besides, he had already taken one of Phantom Lord's major players out of action for them. Gajeel Redfox wasn't going to be released from his prison any time soon.

N made himself comfortable on the roof to watch the action unfold. If Phantom Lord decided to fire Jupiter again, he'd be right there waiting for it. Phantom Lord wouldn't lay a single finger on his guild if he had anything to say about it. He had told Mavis that Fairy Tail was in good hands, and it was going to stay that way.

The blonde summoned the scroll containing Gajeel from the seal on his arm. He wasn't going to let the man go after all his work capturing and interrogating him, but he wondered what would happen if he stuck Gajeel back into the game. Even in his current condition, the Iron Dragon Slayer would put up a good fight against Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer would toughen up by beating the shit out of his opponent, reaffirming Fairy Tail's strength compared to Phantom Lord's, and form a special camaraderie with him that N could only expect between two Dragon Slayers.

On the other hand, if he withheld Gajeel from the battle, Phantom Lord would have one less power player on their field, thus tipping the advantage to Fairy Tail's side. Natsu would get to fight a different opponent, kick their ass, and grow stronger that way, but he wouldn't be able to forge the kind of Dragon Slayer kinship bond with Gajeel that would come out of two dominant males beating the crap out of each other. Perhaps he could introduce the two of them after the guild war was over. It would be too much to hope for them to get along, but at least they would know that the other existed.

N's thoughts were interrupted when a loud, sinister voice echoed in the air around them, **"I don't know how you destroyed my Jupiter blast, but you Fairy Tail pests have been a thorn in my side for far too long. Give me Lucy Heartfilia or I will launch a stronger Jupiter blast at your pathetic guild. Your petty parlor tricks will not save you this time."**

N's eyes narrowed. How dare the guild master of Phantom Lord call his beautiful shinobi technique a 'petty parlor trick'! He'd let it slide for now – insults were like water without any force behind them – but if any of the Fairy Tail members ended up hurt… he'd make sure the asshole regretted ever being born. That was an Uzumaki Naruto-grade promise. He resealed the scroll and stood up.

"Jose…" Makarov growled below. "Don't think you can scare us into submission with a paltry threat like that. We have defeated your Jupiter cannon, and it wasn't done using parlor tricks. No matter what happens, we refuse to betray our comrades. That is the way of Fairy Tail!" N watched as Makarov's hand shot up, his index finger pointing up and his thumb pointing sideways in a distinctly L-like shape. The Fairy Tail members followed suit, roaring their agreement to the high heavens. N wasn't sure what that gesture was supposed to symbolize, but apparently it had been made into a Fairy Tail tradition. He grinned. It was good to see things changing through the years. It would've been boring if Fairy Tail had stayed the same.

N decided to dispel his clone after Makarov's announcement. He felt the familiar rush of memories as they poured into his mind, and he carefully reviewed them. After hearing N's urge to take action from his clone, Makarov had carefully selected the strongest four mages among the group on the beach to invade the Phantom Lord guild and destroy the Jupiter cannon. Makarov would accompany them so he could confront Jose personally. The remaining mages would stay behind to defend the guild and keep Lucy out of Phantom Lord's greedy hands. Should the enemy guild fire another Jupiter blast before they could destroy its power source, Makarov had informed them to just leave the task of destroying it to N, since the Jupiter blast was likely strong enough to injure even someone of Erza's caliber.

_Erza… that's probably the name of that red-haired girl I shoved out of the way earlier,_ N thought. He looked down from his vantage point and saw Natsu, Erza, a black-haired boy, a muscular mage, and Makarov grouped together at the edge of the lake. The black-haired boy smacked a fist against his other palm, building up magic in his hands, and released it in one go on the surface of the lake, "Ice Make: Floor!"

Part of Lake Sciliora froze over as the black-haired boy created a pathway of ice all the way to the Phantom Lord guild. The five Fairy Tail mages, followed by a flying blue cat, headed towards the enemy.

"**Very well, you have chosen to defy me, you Fairy flies. In fifteen minutes, I shall fire another Jupiter blast and obliterate your precious guild! No third-rate barrier is going to stop me from eliminating you!"** Jose's voice boomed from the mechanical guild. N twitched at the insult. He was much too old to react to such under-handed jabs, but he couldn't help it when someone insulted his work. That bastard just earned a one-way ticket to hell. N chuckled darkly as he summoned several clones to keep Lucy Heartfilia and Fairy Tail safe. He then used chakra to camouflage himself so that he wouldn't be seen as he followed the five mages to Phantom Lord. No one insults Uzumaki Naruto's seals and gets away with it!

* * *

After informing the other mages that he was heading off to confront Jose and that they should destroy the Jupiter cannon themselves, Makarov entered one of the hallways. His power began to manifest in a visible aura around him, enough to crack the floor he walked on. He was pleased to see that none of the Phantom Lord members dared to attack him despite him being the enemy. This would make his trip up much less arduous.

He fingered the kunai hidden in his coat. Six years ago, he had defeated Jose at the regular meeting, but Jose had undoubtedly grown stronger since then. Although Makarov was confident that he could still beat the Phantom Lord guild master in a straight-up fight despite his old age, he wouldn't put it past the man to have a dirty trick or two up his sleeve. Should that happen, all he needed to do was to throw the kunai and N would immediately come to his aid. N was infinitely more terrifying than he was, so if he was cornered to the point where he required N's help, Phantom Lord wouldn't stand a chance. It was time that Jose learned that messing with Fairy Tail was a _very_ bad idea.

There was a thunderous noise from below, followed by a brief quake. The Jupiter lacrima had most likely just been smashed to smithereens, courtesy of his Fairy Tail mages. Makarov ignored the ruckus and continued onward to his destination. With that handled, Phantom Lord was down on their main weapon, but he couldn't let his guard down. Jose might have a couple more things that he hadn't shown yet.

Just as that thought passed through his head, the guild began to rumble. Makarov was taken aback as the floor started to tilt _upward_, making him slide into a nearby pillar. He clung on with all his might, enlarging his hands to make sure he had a firm grip. Whatever he had been expecting from Jose, this certainly wasn't it!

"Fun stuff, isn't it?" N's voice came out of nowhere.

"Wha – N, is that you?" Makarov asked, bewildered. What was N doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be back at the guild?

"Correct, Makarov-san."

N appeared in front of him, somehow managing to stand on the floor, which was nearly vertical at this point. Makarov chalked it up to an ability of N's that he had picked up some time in his life. N walked forward with steady steps, gently removing Makarov from the pillar. "Seems like neither of us expected a development like this," said N, heading up. "You're going to where the Phantom Lord guild master is, yes?"

Makarov nodded. "But now that this has happened, get outside first. I want to see what's going on," he said. Floors didn't switch orientations without a reason.

"As you wish." To Makarov's shock, N began to run up the floor, which was more or less a wall by now. Makarov gave up trying to figure N out. The immortal man was as enigmatic as they come.

In no time at all, N exited the guild. He set Makarov down. They now stood on top of a small platform close to the top of the enemy guild. Makarov gasped when he realized that Phantom Lord had literally turned into a mechanical giant and one of its fingers was drawing the magic circle for the forbidden spell _Abyss Break_. That Jose–!

Suddenly it began to rain. Both N and Makarov looked over the edge to peer at the larger platform below theirs, where Gray was confronting a woman wearing a Russian Cossack hat. She had tightly-curled blue hair, and she was wearing a navy-blue coat with a fur shawl over her shoulders. They weren't fighting yet, but Makarov guessed that she was probably one of Phantom Lord's elite Element Four. His eyes narrowed. Come to think of it, how was Jose powering the giant to write the spell? If Makarov knew the other man, he wouldn't do it himself. Did that mean the Element Four had something to do with it? He decided it would be best to leave his Fairy Tail mages to deal with it while he challenged Jose. He had faith in the generation that he had raised.

"Let's go, N. Gray can handle himself," Makarov said, turning to head back inside.

N nodded and followed after him.

They walked down the hallway, Makarov once again displaying his impressive aura of power. The few Phantom Lord members they encountered hurriedly scampered out of the way. No one wanted to mess with Fairy Tail's guild master or the tall, masked man who accompanied him, who oozed strength and confidence from his every pore despite keeping his aura contained.

Makarov glanced back at N when the shadow guardian suddenly pivoted on his heel and sucker-punched a man wearing a green bowler hat and a white blindfold over his eyes, who had appeared out of nowhere behind them. The man flew backwards and went through the wall, leaving behind an enormous hole. A consecutive series of crashes indicated that the mage had also gone through several more walls after that. N straightened and said, "Let's continue. We don't need to waste time on someone who can't even do a proper ambush."

_That would've caught me off-guard,_ Makarov thought. _I didn't even sense him._

As if knowing what the guild master was thinking, N spoke, "I have a sharp nose. He might've been able to hide his presence, but not his scent. I could also detect the slight vibrations he sent through the floor with his footsteps. It's not possible to sneak up on me if you don't have any shinobi training, so you don't have to worry about ambushes when I'm with you."

"That's a relief," Makarov replied, grinning. "I don't want Fairy Tail to lose morale if I'm taken down before I defeat Jose."

"I won't allow that to happen, Makarov-san. Rest assured that Phantom Lord will be going down today," N said. He began to walk forward. "Let's go. I can sense that your mages have all completed their battles and are heading up as well. We'll reconvene in one of the rooms."

The guild began to rumble again, some of the walls crumbling into debris. N sent a clone to check on what was going on outside. Makarov surmised that the reason the mechanical guild was shaking was likely because his Fairy Tail mages had defeated the other Element Four. N had knocked the one with the bowler hat through several walls with a single punch, probably rendering him unconscious. If all four of Phantom Lord's elite squad of mages had been defeated, they would stop powering the giant robot. Consequently, the Abyss Break spell would disappear, since the giant would no longer be functioning enough to finish drawing it.

When N's clone dispelled, he affirmed that Makarov's reasoning was spot on. The mechanical giant had been powered by the Element Four, and with all of them beaten, it had collapsed. The Abyss Break spell had faded.

A few rooms later, they stepped into a large chamber that was easily twice the size of some of the previous rooms they had passed through. From a door at the opposite side of the room, five victorious Fairy Tail mages emerged. Makarov blinked. When did Mirajane join the party?

"Master!" Erza called out upon seeing them, her face lighting up. "You're alright!"

"Did you beat the Phantom Lord guild master already?" Gray asked, walking towards them.

Makarov shook his head. "We haven't located him, unfortunately. But with his guild on the verge of collapse and the Element Four defeated, I'm certain he will come and fight us on his own," he answered. He gestured to his side. "N here will also assist us."

"N? When did you get here?" Natsu asked, bounding over to them with an excited grin. "Did you follow us?"

"I did. That asshole insulted my seals. I'm not going to let him get away with that," N replied, miffed. "Although I'm only going to step in if he proves to be too much for you guys."

"What?! You're not fighting?" Natsu demanded. "Why not?"

"I'm stronger than all of you combined. If I fought for you, none of you would get any valuable battle experience that comes from fighting a strong opponent, because it would be over in less than a minute," N explained. "So I'm going to sit this one out unless he does something drastic or he gets the upper hand."

"Good point," Erza conceded with a small smile.

"You're a man among men!" Elfman shouted, punching his fist into the air.

"We'll definitely show you the power of Fairy Tail! You better watch, N, 'cause I'm going to beat you one day!" Natsu declared, pointing his finger at N.

"Aye!" Happy chirped from his position on Natsu's head.

N chuckled. "I'm sure you will," he replied.

The atmosphere in the room abruptly turned serious as a huge amount of malicious intent made itself known at the third doorway to the room, where the Phantom Lord guild master entered, slowly clapping. A horrific aura surrounded Jose, so full of hatred and anger and malevolence that it made most of the Fairy Tail wizards in the room feel physically ill. Only N stood unaffected by it.

"You disgusting Fairies have irritated me for the last time," Jose growled, his hands falling back down to his sides. "I applaud you for taking down my Element Four, but you will go no further. I will crush you all myself. Feel the power of my hatred! Feel my enmity and grovel at my feet, you worthless flies!" He cackled maniacally, throwing his arms out wide.

Even Makarov was feeling the effects of Jose's animosity. His Fairy Tail mages were struggling to fortify their mental will against Jose's overwhelming aura, but they were ultimately failing. _His hostility is… too strong…_ Makarov thought, forcing himself to stay on his feet. _How can this be?_ Mirajane was shaking, and looked like she was about to hurl. There was a subtle hint of fear in Natsu's eyes at the sheer power that Jose was giving off. _Is this the end?_

Then N did something that none of them expected him to do.

He _laughed._

The malignant atmosphere abruptly vanished, replaced by total bewilderment as all the Fairy Tail mages and the Phantom Lord guild master just stared at the laughing man, utterly baffled as to why N was cracking up in the face of such horrific intent. Had it been too strong for him and he'd gone mental on them?

N's laughter finally subsided, although a few extra chuckles still escaped his mouth. "You call that… enmity? You call that… _hatred?_ Oh man, that's just too funny! That wouldn't even register a one on my hatred scale! Hahahaha! Oh gods, I can't–" he choked out, before laughing all over again.

Everyone else in the room just sweatdropped.

"You dare to mock me, you Fairy trash?" Jose spat, sending a wave of Darkness magic towards the shadow guardian. "What would you know of my anger, of my humiliation?!"

To his astonishment, N just dispersed his Dead Wave with a casual flick of his wrist. Two seconds later, the opposite wall was cleaved in half. Jose gaped at the damage. "What – how? What did you do?"

N calmed down again. He looked directly at Jose and enunciated every word loudly and clearly, "I don't know where you got the idea that your malicious aura would amount to anything, but it's not going to work on me. I've faced hatred a thousand times worse than yours will ever be, and I came out fine. You want to know what hatred feels like? Let me give you a taste of my _killing intent."_ His eyes turned blood-red.

The pressure in the room tripled as N unleashed his own aura, although he made sure to direct it only towards the Phantom Lord guild master and not to his own guild members. They would still feel it, but it wouldn't be as powerful.

Makarov shivered as N's killing intent washed over him. He tore his gaze away from N to glance at his Fairy Tail mages, cringing inwardly as he saw the fear written all over their faces. He switched his attention back to Jose. The other guild master looked white as a sheet. His eyes were bulging in their sockets, and he was gasping desperately for air. Sweat was literally pouring down his face, and his hands were shaking so badly that Makarov thought they might fall off. There was a noticeable wet spot on the front of his pants. Jose tipped backwards, his hands shooting up towards his throat. The Phantom Lord guild master looked just about ready to strangle himself to death.

N's spine-chilling aura vanished, leaving the entire group shaken and shivering in their own clothes. The masked man stood in the center of the room, his red eyes receding back to their usual blue color.

Makarov was the first to recover. "N, I would like to reiterate what I said the first time I met you… you're _terrifying,_" the old guild master remarked, taking deep breaths to get his nerves back under control.

N observed the twitching form of the Phantom Lord guild master, who had fainted and had foam bubbling from his mouth. "I might've gone overboard on this one," he conceded, scratching the back of his head. "My bad. I'll wake him up so you guys can have your battle."

"He might be too traumatized to continue," Makarov replied, sparing Jose a minute glance. "It's alright, N. They got their fair share of battle experience already."

"Ah, well, guess it can't be helped," N said, shrugging. "So much for me sitting out on this one. Sorry about that."

The Fairy Tail mages slowly recovered from their shock. "It's… it's alright, N," Erza responded after a moment. Her eyes gazed at him warily. "…You're strong."

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," N returned casually. He looked at Natsu, who was still gazing at him with fearful eyes, his pupils dilated. N sighed. He walked over to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer and crouched down, frowning behind his mask when Natsu made a move to scoot away from him. It was probably his draconic instinct, warning him that N was dangerous and to keep as far away from him as possible. Well, he'd have none of that.

"Natsu," he intoned sharply, setting a hand on top of Natsu's head. "Natsu, look at me."

A bit of awareness came back to the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes. "N…?" he whispered, his pupils shrinking back to a more normal size. "What… was that?"

"That was something called 'killing intent'. It's a technique of sorts from my homeland where the user expresses his intention to kill to the opponent. It functions as an illusion, more or less, since a particularly strong amount of it can enable the opponent to see their own death," N explained, gently ruffling the boy's pink hair. "I'm sorry you had to feel it. But remember this, Natsu – it's alright to know fear. Fear is important. It tells you when you are outclassed, when to back down, and when to admit defeat. It also represents an obstacle you have to overcome. Think of it as your weakness. When you are able to overcome your fear, your weakness will disappear."

"That makes sense," Natsu murmured, averting his gaze. "But I can't seem to get it out of my head. How terrifying you were in that one moment, I mean. It's like…" He trailed off, looking down at his hands. They still quivered slightly. He clenched them. "It's like you weren't there anymore. Like you had disappeared and were replaced… by a murderer."

The room went quiet at the sound of Natsu's words. N stood up, his hand sliding from Natsu's hair. "A murderer, huh… that's not so surprising," N said softly, sounding slightly sad, and maybe a bit wistful. His next words were so quiet that only Natsu and Makarov could hear them, "When you've lived the way I have, killing becomes just another one of those unavoidable things." Natsu gave him a confused look. N shook his head and stepped away. He turned to the twitching Phantom Lord guild master and summoned the scroll he had sealed Gajeel in. He released Gajeel from the scroll. The Iron Dragon Slayer landed flat on his back, jerking him awake.

Gajeel immediately shot to his feet. "You fucker! I'm going to cave your face in for everything you did to me!" he roared, throwing his arm forward and morphing it into a steel sword.

N caught the sword with one hand, paying no heed to the way the sharp edges dug into his skin. "I advise you to take a look around first, iron boy. Your guild has lost the war it started," N said. He threw the sword away from him, causing Gajeel to lose his balance and fall on his ass. "Fairy Tail is the victor here."

Gajeel stole a quick glance around, his eyes landing on his unconscious guild master. "Master! You bastard…" he seethed, switching his gaze back to N. "How dare you do this to our guild! We're supposed to be the strongest! You Fairy trash!"

The Fairy Tail mages glared at Gajeel. "Who're you calling trash?!" screamed Natsu, leaping to his feet, fists ablaze. Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, looming dangerously over Gajeel with numerous swords pointed at his head. Elfman used Take-Over magic and transformed into an enormous beast with horns growing out of his head. He cocked a fist back, ready to pummel Gajeel at a moment's notice. Gray spread his feet apart, locking his hands in his usual Ice Make stance. They looked ready to kill.

"W-wait!" A woman's voice called from the doorway where the Fairy Tail team had first entered the room. All eyes turned in that direction, landing on a blue-haired woman in a navy-blue coat. She shrank back a bit at all the attention, but squared her shoulders and strode forward, coming to a stop in front of Gajeel. She held her arms out, spreading her feet apart in a protective stance.

"Juvia? What are you doing? You're supposed to fight them!" Gajeel growled, getting to his feet.

"Juvia has already been defeated, Gajeel," Juvia replied, keeping her eyes trained on Makarov. "Juvia wants stop fighting, too. Juvia's guild master is down, and though Juvia's body is made of water, even Juvia does not think Juvia could take on all of these Fairy Tail mages at once."

Gajeel looked vexed, but he knew Juvia was correct, especially since N was present. He glowered at them, crossing his arms petulantly and muttering, "Tch."

"Good to see someone with a brain around here," N said, signaling for the Fairy Tail members to stand down. In return, Juvia lowered her arms and moved to step beside Gajeel. "Your name is Juvia, correct? What do you guys plan on doing after this?"

Juvia looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The guild war that Phantom Lord instigated has undoubtedly caught the attention of the Magic Council. Once they get all the information they need, they will disband Phantom Lord and strip your guild master of his Wizard Saint title. Without an official guild to return to, do both of you intend to become mercenaries until you can find another guild to join up with?" N elaborated.

Juvia fidgeted shyly, her eyes flicking in Gray's direction. N smirked under his mask when he saw that. _I sense a fangirl crush in the works,_ he thought, amused.

"Juvia would like… to join Fairy Tail," she murmured, inclining her head. "That is, if you don't mind Juvia joining?"

"Juvia!" Gajeel exclaimed, shocked. "You want to become one of these annoying Fairies?"

"What'd you say, you bastard?!" Natsu exploded, firing up again. "Why don't you say that to my face, huh?!"

Gajeel rammed his head against Natsu's, his eyes twitching in irritation, "Didn't you hear me the first time, trash? Or are your ears just for show, eh, _Salamander?"_ he hissed back, grinding his teeth.

"Why, you–"

N clapped his hands together loudly, interrupting the fight that was starting between the two Dragon Slayers. "Right, let's stop there, you two," he called loudly, breaking the fight up. "Natsu, I know you don't like him, but try to get along with your fellow Dragon Slayer, alright?" He laid down a hand on both boys' shoulders.

As predicted, Natsu gaped at the smugly-grinning brunet. "What the hell… you're a Dragon Slayer, too?" he blurted out, pointing a finger right at Gajeel's face.

Gajeel swatted N's hand off his shoulder and leaned back. "That's right, bitch, I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer," Gajeel boasted, sending a cocky smirk in Natsu's direction.

"Then do you know where Igneel is?" Natsu prompted, ignoring Gajeel's smirk.

Gajeel scowled. "Of course I don't, idiot. Who the hell is Igneel?" he asked.

"My father, the Fire Dragon!" Natsu proudly proclaimed.

"Why the hell would you think I'd know him then, you dumbass?" Gajeel retorted, his eye twitching. "I'm the _Iron_ Dragon Slayer. The only dragon I know is Metalicana, and the bastard flew off and abandoned me seven years ago. Fucking piece of shit."

Natsu froze. "Seven years ago?" he whispered, going pale. He stared at Gajeel with a serious expression, then asked, "Did your dragon also leave you behind seven years ago on July 7th, the year X777?"

"Yours too?" Gajeel grunted, frowning. "That can't be a coincidence."

Before they could discuss any more on the mysterious whereabouts of their respective dragons, a wave of Darkness magic shot towards them. They leaped apart, everyone's attention going to the now-conscious Phantom Lord guild master. He was still shaking a bit – aftereffects from receiving the full-brunt of N's killing intent – but he looked more pissed off than a PMS-ing bitch on a bad day, and that was saying something.

"Master," Gajeel acknowledged, inclining his head.

Jose's face warped into a demonic grin, showing all of his teeth. "How nice of you to return Gajeel Redfox to me," he jeered, pulling himself up to his full height. "Gajeel, Juvia, attack those Fairy pests!"

"Oh no, you don't! I took him off the playing field and it's going to stay that way," N said, unfurling his scroll. He slipped the Light Pen out of his pocket and quickly drew a seal in the air.

Gajeel's eyes widened. "FUCK YOUUU–" he yelled, once again disappearing into the scroll. N rolled it up and resealed it back into the markings on his left arm.

"There," he said cheerfully to the enraged guild master. "Now you can't get to him."

Jose's face turned an unpleasant shade of maroon. "You disgusting _brat_!" he spat, charging up his Darkness magic. He swung his hand in an arc in front of him. "Dark Pulse!"

N had already written a seal in the air with his Light Pen before the area around him and his fellow Fairy Tail mages exploded. The dome-shaped barrier he had created blocked the explosion from reaching them. "You know, I take offense to that insult," N sighed, bringing the index and middle fingers on his left hand together. "'Cause I'm older than you, you know. You should respect your elders, you impudent child. _Burst!"_

The dome-shaped barrier blasted outward, creating a shockwave of air that knocked Jose clean off his feet. N leaped into the air, his golden chakra cloak once again enveloping his body. Two arms sprung out of his cloak and grabbed onto the Phantom Lord guild master, who looked fearful upon remembering that N was the one who had unleashed the terrifying killing intent on him earlier. N held up a single index finger, a small, compact blue sphere with four razor-sharp edges spinning around it forming at the tip.

"Mini Rasenshuriken," he said, flicking the sphere towards Jose. The guild master struggled to move out of the way, but N's chakra arms held him firmly in place.

Jose screamed as the attack impacted, a whirlwind of tiny, invisible chakra blades shredding and slicing through flesh and bone. Gasping for breath, he fell to his knees, one hand pressed against his abdomen. Blood poured out of the wound, showing no signs of stopping. N watched him struggle with unsympathetic eyes.

"Hey, N! Stop hogging all the fun to yourself!" Natsu hollered, breaking N out of his bloodthirsty mindset. The masked shinobi silently cursed at himself – he thought he'd finally broken out of his bloodlust phase, but it seemed like it was starting to return to him. He needed to get the hell out of here before it got worse.

"N…" Makarov murmured, giving him a look heavily laced with disapproval.

"My apologies, Makarov-san. I let my dark side get the best of me," N said, bowing his head. "Unfortunately my skills in healing are rudimentary at best, and are unsuited for use on mages. The most I can do is first-aid."

Makarov solemnly observed the other guild master, who shakily stood back up despite the hole in his abdomen. "I'm… not finished yet!" Jose growled, his eyes going bloodshot with delirium. "Phantom Lord will _never_… bow down to Fairy Tail! Now die!" He shot a destructive wave of magic towards them, which cracked the floor as it passed over it.

Everyone dodged the Dead Wave easily. "Give it up, Jose," Makarov said, a somber expression gracing his aged face. "You've lost already." The elderly guild master stepped towards the younger Wizard Saint. He didn't like Jose or the fact that the Phantom Lord guild master had tried to annihilate his guild, but the other man was a fellow Wizard Saint and human being. Fairy Tail also had a strict 'no killing' policy – although N had just toed the line with his last attack. He'd have to talk to the shadow guardian about that later.

Jose gritted his teeth. "You think I'm a fool, Makarov?" he snarled, raising his arm again. "Phantom Lord is… number one! Juvia! Finish them off!" He pointed at the Fairy Tail mages.

Juvia looked calm as she stepped towards her guild master. "Master, Juvia means no disrespect, but… Juvia quits!" she announced loudly, erasing her Phantom Lord guild mark.

Jose's eyes bulged sickeningly. "You _bitch_. Are you siding with Fairy Tail now? Then you can die, too!" he yelled, spit flying from his mouth. "Dark Pulse!"

The attack simply passed through Juvia, since her body was made of water. Behind her, Gray moved into position. "Ice Make: Shield!" he said, throwing his arms up. A thick shield of ice rose up before them, blocking Jose's attack from reaching the Fairy Tail mages.

Erza surged forward. "Blumenblatt!" she called out, slashing at Jose with her swords. Despite being heavily injured, Jose's ingrained reflexes allowed him to dodge the majority of Erza's strikes. His blood painted the stone tiles a bright, crimson color. "We will not allow you to harm Fairy Tail anymore, you snake!"

Natsu was next. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He breathed out a hot stream of flames from his mouth. Jose moved to the side and countered by sending small bursts of Darkness magic at Natsu. The magic bullets forced Natsu to end his attack so he could dodge them. "Fairy Tail is the strongest!" he shouted, flames blazing around his fist. "And you aren't going to take that away from us, you bastard!"

Gray dispelled his shield and concentrated his magic in his hands. "Ice Make: Lance!" Several spears of ice shot towards the Phantom Lord guild master. Jose destroyed them with his Dead Wave, but then he got clocked in the face by Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack. He flew backwards and hit the wall with a resounding crack. He slid down, letting out a wet gasp.

"No… no, I can't lose… this is impossible," Jose gurgled, trying to get back up. "I can't lose… not to _Fairy Tail…"_

Elfman also prepared to launch his Beast Soul fist at Jose, but Makarov held out a hand. "That's enough. He's already been defeated," the elderly guild master commanded. "To continue would be nothing more than bullying at this point." Elfman reluctantly lowered his arm. He dispelled his Take-Over magic, allowing himself to revert back to his human form.

Erza requipped into her usual Heart Kreuz armor, and both Natsu and Gray extinguished their magic. Together with Mirajane and Makarov, they stood tall in front of Jose. "You've lost, Jose. And if you dare to come after us again, we will not show mercy. You had the power and strength to secure a position as a Wizard Saint despite your relatively young age, yet you wandered down the wrong path and squandered your potential. If you had chosen to use your power for good, you would have been a good role model to the younger generation," Makarov said gravely. "Fairy Tail will trump your guild no matter what you do, because we are a guild that encourages bonds between comrades. We will never betray one another. If you attack us, you will incur our wrath. If you hurt us, we will pay you back three-fold. We are the strongest guild, and we will continue to outshine you. Why? Because we are… _FAIRY TAIL!"_ The last two words were echoed by all of the Fairy Tail wizards, resulting in a loud and proud declaration that reverberated throughout the room.

"My guild… was supposed to be the strongest!" Jose wheezed, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the line of mages standing together in front of him. "Damn you all! Damn you all to hell! I will never… bow down to you!"

N stepped forward. "Please allow me to finish this," he said, summoning an empty scroll from his seals. He wrote a seal in the air and activated it. Jose instantly disappeared into the scroll before he could say anything else, leaving behind nothing but a bloody smear on the wall. N resealed the scroll and gave Makarov a thumbs-up.

The guild war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail was now officially over.

Upon realizing this, the Fairy Tail mages burst into cheers. Makarov and N walked a little distance away, watching the scene fondly. Even Juvia was dragged into celebrating with them, although she protested at first because she had been one of their former enemies.

"Who cares? You want to join Fairy Tail! That makes you one of us!" Natsu announced, punching a flaming fist into the air.

"That's right," Gray added, holding out a hand to her. "So come on!"

Juvia looked at both of them in wonder and flushed pink. "Thank you," she said, taking Gray's hand. "Juvia… Juvia will do her best!" Natsu grinned boyishly at her, his eyes slipping closed.

_What do you think, Mavis-chan?_ N thought, smiling softly behind his mask. _This is the Fairy Tail you've always dreamed of; one that is bright and warm, yet strong, and values family and friendship above all else._

"N, I would like to ask something of you," Makarov began in a low voice, tearing his eyes away from the scene to look up at the masked shinobi.

"Yes? What is it, Makarov-san?"

Makarov took a deep breath. "Would you consider giving up your shadow guardianship to become a full-fledged member of Fairy Tail?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Hah? You want to terminate the shadow guardianship contract, Makarov-san?" N asked, sounding surprised. Makarov could see a glimpse of shadowed blue through the eyeholes in N's mask.

The aged guild master nodded. "Your alias has become known to most of the Fairy Tail wizards by now, N. I think they will feel better if you could show them your face, too," Makarov explained.

"The man named Mystogan doesn't show his face," N pointed out.

"Mystogan is a different story. There's a good reason why he doesn't reveal his face. You only keep your face hidden because it is requirement of the shadow guardianship contract. But if the contract is dissolved, you won't have to hide anymore, N," Makarov said.

N sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know, if I hadn't been there, your guild would be a pincushion right now," he replied, glancing back to the rowdy guild members. Erza was currently prying Natsu and Gray apart and reprimanding them for fighting.

"That's nothing, we would have just rebuilt it. The guild isn't comprised of just the building, you know. It's the mages in it who make it up," Makarov countered. "We were planning to expand it anyway."

"Heh, you sound like Mavis," N chuckled, slapping a hand over his mask. He was quiet for a moment. "…Are you sure you want me in the guild, Makarov-san? I'm not even a mage, I'm a shinobi."

Makarov waved a hand around casually. "Don't sweat the small stuff. If you're part of Fairy Tail, you're part of our family, mage or not," he said, pushing N to accept his consideration.

_Fairy Tail will become your new family, you'll see._

Mavis' words echoed in his head, despite being said nearly a hundred years ago. N smiled.

"You got me, Makarov-san. Very well, I will consider it. But I think we best be heading back now. The rest of the guild is probably anxious for our triumphant return," the masked shinobi replied, turning to walk towards the door. "Come on, you rowdy lot, we need to tell the other guild members that we won."

"Yeah!" Natsu cheered, bounding after N.

"Aye!" Happy chirped, flying beside him.

In high spirits after defeating their enemy, the group climbed to the highest part of the mechanical giant, which had collapsed after the Element Four were defeated. Looking down, the other Fairy Tail members still standing on the beach looked like tiny, colorful ants. They crowded together on the ground, looking up expectantly at the members who had infiltrated the guild.

"Everyone, get ready!" Makarov instructed, standing in the center. The other Fairy Tail members arranged themselves on either side of him, while N stood behind him. Juvia hung back since she wasn't an official member yet, but Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand beside them. Juvia smiled at being included, even though she didn't know what they were preparing to do. They all took a deep breath.

"We are… _FAIRY TAIL!"_ the Fairy Tail mages bellowed together, shooting their hands into the air to form an L-shape with their thumbs and index fingers. Juvia followed suit once she saw what they were doing.

Upon seeing the sign and hearing the united cry, raucous cheering rose up from the members on the beach.

Fairy Tail had won.

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**This chapter took a little longer to get out for a couple of reasons. First, some reviewers pointed out that N could have used the Hiraishin to teleport the Jupiter blast away. To be frank, I completely forgot about that possibility. Second, a couple of you guys informed me that N didn't need to verbally command his clones because they are all a version of himself and therefore know all his thoughts and techniques and such. Looking back, it does seem incredibly unnecessary for N to order his clones around. Considering these two things, it appeared that the gap in my Naruto knowledge was larger than I thought, so I decided to do a refresher and read all of the Shippuuden chapters again (yes, all 444 of them). It took a few days to read everything while writing the new chapter, but when I finally got through, I realized a good portion of the canon messed up a few things in the chapter for which I'd already written roughly 4000 words. So I had to scrap most of it and rewrite it and that's why it took a little longer than it should have to get it out. I also went back and edited a few things in the last chapter (like the parts where N pulls his Light Pen from his sleeve even though he's supposed to be bare-chested, derp).**

**You guys are just the greatest ever, by the way. I posted the previous chapter a week ago and urged you guys to review. What happened when I did that? I got **_**65**_** reviews. Holy cheese, guys, look at how much spirit you have! If we continue on this path, we can totally make it beyond 200. Show me what you've got!**

**Please leave a review! Let's make it to 200 and beyond!**

**MangaFreak15**


	5. Chapter 4: Decisions

**So much for this being a pet project, lol. This is only LS's fourth chapter (fifth if you count the prologue), yet it's already gotten 220+ reviews, 630+ favorites, and 790+ follows. All of my expectations were obliterated by the sheer power of your awesome responses. I'm honestly at a loss for words. Keep it up, guys, you're fantastic!**

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**Living Shadow**

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Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.

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**Chapter Four – Decisions**

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**Year X784**

In the comfort of his hidden alcove, N sat on his bed, holding his spare mask face-up in his hands. The bright glow from his desk lamp cast an odd shadow over the mask, giving it a more sinister appearance. The cadmium orange lines almost looked like threads of flame, weaving in, out, and around the ebony black surface. N stared at it contemplatively. The tip of his index finger brushed over the edge of the left eye hole.

For ninety-eight years, he had carried the mantle of shadow guardianship. Ninety-eight years of wearing masks, ninety-eight years of hiding his name and face – ninety-eight years of being 'N' and disassociating himself from his identity as Uzumaki Naruto. Mavis had reminded him during the years they spent together, but in the end, even she had lived and died knowing him as N. He slowly traced over the lines on the mask.

Makarov wanted to terminate the shadow guardianship contract so that N could be made into an official member of Fairy Tail. If he agreed, he would no longer belong to the darkness of the shadows and the dirty, bloody battleground formed by the dregs of society. He would be stepping into the light, where mercy and decency went hand in hand and he would be exposed to the world once again. Every fiber of his being protested against it. Shinobi thrived in the shadows, no matter their age, strength, or reputation. It was their way of life.

N exhaled softly, closing his eyes. Of course, the shinobi had died out a long time ago. War after war had seen to it, staining the air with the smell of ashes, blood, and smoke, the sky glowing crimson with fire. The screams echoed, the monuments warped beyond recognition, and the dead rotted in the streets. The vegetation withered with time, turning what was once a beautiful landscape to dust and bloodstained soil. 150 years after he was born, all but him had perished, and the age of mages began. Forget the naivety of his youth; the peace his revered teacher had talked about was nothing but wishful thinking. That dream had died with his friends.

N opened his eyes, gazing down at the mask again. He set it aside and stood up, stepping towards his desk to pull out one of the drawers. A small silver mirror rested inside. He picked it up and peered stoically at his reflection.

Nothing had changed since the last time he had glanced into the mirror. He still looked like he was twenty-five. But if one looked closely enough, his eyes appeared tired and pained, swimming with the depths of years far beyond his physical age. How could Makarov expect him to expose himself like this? N paused at the thought, blinking at the mirror. Since when did he care what others thought of him? Had he become so deeply entrenched into his role as 'N' that his fundamental self had changed, adapting to Fairy's Tail ideals and Mavis' will? Ninety-eight years was not a particularly long time when one considered the extent of his lifespan, but it was long enough for a person to change.

N put the mirror away. He picked up his mask and secured it over his face, feeling an odd sense of relief as its familiar weight settled over his skin. He was, first and foremost, a shinobi. And once a shinobi – he reached out to switch off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness – _always_ a shinobi.

He felt the tug of the Hiraishin. Makarov must have thrown the kunai. They had just defeated Phantom Lord, so he doubted it was an emergency. It was highly likely that the guild master just wanted to finish their conversation about his shadow guardianship status. N teleported to the location of the kunai, but instead of Makarov's office, he found himself in the center of the guild hall, surrounded by all of the members of Fairy Tail.

Makarov stood on top of the table next to him, his arm still in its throwing position. The aforementioned kunai was stuck into the floor at N's feet. N bent down to retrieve the kunai, twirling it around his index finger by the ring at the end of its handle.

"Makarov-san," he began, his voice deceptively calm, "what is the meaning of this?" He tossed the kunai into the air, snatched it by its handle, and slammed it point-first into the table. "Didn't I tell you… that this was for emergencies _only?"_ His steely gaze pierced straight through the old guild master, making Makarov sweat a bit at its intensity. The Wizard Saint straightened back up, clearing his throat. The Fairy Tail mages watched the two of them in tense silence.

"N," Makarov started, clasping his hands behind his back, "Fairy Tail would like to thank you for your services. You protected the guild admirably, as expected of your shadow guardianship duties. With Phantom Lord defeated and all its members now in the Council's custody, it is time to turn our attention to the matter we talked about directly after your capture of Jose. Have you made a decision yet?" He finished his mini-speech off with a hopeful grin.

N was silent. He flicked his gaze over the Fairy Tail members standing behind Makarov, noting their grateful, but curious faces. He could see the questions in their eyes: _Who is this guy? Is he a new Fairy Tail member? I've never seen him before, so d'you think he's like Mystogan? What's his name? What do you think he looks like underneath the mask?_ And so on, so forth. Those kinds of things were to be expected, seeing as he'd kept out of the spotlight for almost a century.

His attention returned to Makarov, who looked at him expectantly. "No," N answered bluntly. He let go of the kunai, leaving it stuck in the table. "I did say I would consider it, Makarov-san, but not now. Not yet." He brought his fingers together in front of him, forming a one-handed seal. "If you want to discuss this issue further, your office is more than sufficient–"

N was interrupted when Natsu lunged at him, a single hand shooting out with the intention of knocking N's mask off his face. N swung his arm up, hitting Natsu off-course with a fist to the face. The Dragon Slayer went flying into the wall. He smacked into it with enough force to leave a hole in the shape of his figure. He stayed there for a few seconds, seemingly frozen with his soul floating out of his mouth, before he fell out of the hole and landed on the floor in heap.

"That won't work, firecracker," N said, lowering his arm. "Try again next time."

"Natsu," cried Happy, flying over to his downed partner. "Are you okay?"

N watched passively as the pink-haired boy struggled to get to his feet, his limbs still shaking from the force of the blow. "Y…you're so strong, N," Natsu said, steadying himself against the wall. He took a step forward, swaying a little bit. A blond girl with a ponytail at the side of her head hurried forward to support him, muttering something about how he shouldn't push himself. "Why don't you want to join us, huh? Are you scared?"

"Natsu, don't be so rude—" the girl scolded, but Natsu ignored her and gazed at N, fiery determination simmering in his eyes.

_Cheeky brat,_ N thought, smiling a little behind his mask. _Kinda reminds me of myself when I was younger, heh._

"Think what you want, Natsu. But my reasons are not so shallow that they can be expressed with mere words like 'scared'," the shinobi answered, resuming his one-handed pose. "Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"Hold it. Don't leave yet, I've got something to say to you," said another Fairy Tail mage, stepping forward. She was the chocolate-haired woman who had attacked him after he'd taken care of Gajeel. N wasn't sure what she could possibly want with him, but he acquiesced by staying where he was instead of teleporting back to Makarov's office.

"…Yes?" he prompted when she stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Don't rush me, I'm trying to find the right words to say," the woman grumbled, putting a hand on her hip. "N, right? I just want to thank you for saving the guild and… I'm sorry for accusing you of being an enemy." A hint of pink dusted her cheeks.

"No problem. I was simply doing my duties as Fairy Tail's shadow guardian," N replied. He looked at Makarov again. "Now, let us—"

"You're not getting away so easily, N!"

"Yeah, we're gonna tear that stupid mask right off your face!"

Before N could get in another word edgewise, the Fairy Tail mages converged on him, using the classic capture move universally known as 'the dogpile'. N instantly teleported away, reappearing in Makarov's office. He could still hear the yelps and shouts from outside the door as the wizards fell on top of each other. He chuckled lightly. There was no way they could get him with a predictable move like that.

N melted into the shadows in the room, deciding to wait for Makarov to come back to his office before they picked up their discussion. It was heart-warming to know that they wanted him to join their pseudo-family, but… he honestly had his reasons for keeping out of the spotlight. Perhaps he and Makarov could tweak the contract somehow so that, rather than a shadow guardian, he could exist as just a protector. He would still be duty-bound to place Fairy Tail's well-being above all else, but he would no longer work solely from the shadows. It was a rather distressing thought; the shadows had been his domain for several centuries. Could he give that world up so easily?

He would need more time before he officially made a decision. Perhaps it was time to visit Mavis again, as well as _that_ place…

* * *

Tenroujima was exactly the same as he remembered it—bright, lush vegetation in shades of yellow and green dotting the rocky slopes, an enormous tree sitting at its center with its roots entwined, miniature waterfalls spilling over the gaps between the jutting cliffs. N sped up, flapping his golden-orange chakra wings to boost himself higher into the air. He could feel the hot sun beating against his back, courtesy of the island's year-round summer weather. While it was indeed quite warm even for him, it was far from the hottest temperature he had ever experienced. The former Sunagakure of the Elemental Nations and dragon fire took the top spots for that.

A couple minutes later, he landed on the beach, his chakra wings dissipating. He stretched, feeling his spine crack. It was a long way to Tenroujima from the mainland. Although he possessed a monstrous amount of chakra, maintaining his chakra wings for such an extended period of time did take its toll. He would have to rest for at least two hours before he had enough energy to fly to his next destination. He took a step forward.

"_Narutoooo!"_

N immediately used chakra to stick to the sand as a flying blur tackled him from out of nowhere. Long, wavy, flaxen tresses trailed behind the body of the petite girl, who had her ethereal arms firmly wrapped around his torso. Two wing-like adornments protruded from the sides of her head, complementing the frilly pink robe she wore and giving her an almost fairy-like appearance. She squeezed him tightly. When she looked up, she gave him a bright, happy grin, her green eyes sparkling with childish joy.

"Hello, little lady. Did you miss me?" he teased, patting her on the head.

Mavis pouted, but continued to cling to him. "You haven't visited me in a long time, that's why," she replied, resting her head against his bare abdomen.

"I visited you almost a year ago," N told her.

"That's too long!" she complained.

N laughed. "Sorry, I don't have enough time to visit you more often," he said, removing the mask from his face and storing it in his seals. "What have you been up to since I last came here?"

Mavis sighed and released him. "Nothing, like usual. It's boring here 'cause I'm dead," she murmured, digging her toes into the sand. "I wish you could stay with me, but I know you're duty-bound to protect Fairy Tail. How is it, by the way? Is Makarov still the guild master?"

"He is," N replied, watching the waves wash up on the shore, the edge of the water just barely reaching Mavis' feet. "That's not what I came to talk about, though."

Mavis stopped shifting the sand between her toes and looked at him curiously. "You want to talk about something with me?" she asked, bouncing away from the waves and towards the forest. "Let's go to my grave, then. We can talk all we want!" She disappeared into one of the caves, her wavy hair fluttering behind her.

"Slow down, little lady, or you might hurt yourself," N called jokingly into the mouth of the cave. He followed after the first Fairy Tail guild master at a leisurely pace.

Mavis spun around and stuck her tongue out. "I'm a spirit, N, how can I hurt myself?" she asked, twirling around with her arms out. "Even if I can physically manifest my body for a while, I'll be fine—oof!"

N burst out laughing as Mavis tenderly rubbed her nose, having tripped over a stray pebble and fallen to the ground face-first. She sent him an annoyed look. "N, that wasn't funny. You should've warned me," she whined, striding up to him to smack him on the arm. Her cheeks puffed out, giving her the appearance of a particularly bushy housecat. With a hint of red tinting her nose, it wasn't hard to imagine her as one.

N lost it. His howls of laughter echoed off the cavern walls even as he crumbled to the cold stone floor, vigorously beating his fist against it.

Mavis stamped her foot against the ground. "Hey, stop laughing at me! N!" she pouted. She briskly floated over to him and unceremoniously shoved his head down. To her disappointment, N vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a large rock in his place. It clattered to the ground and bounced off to the side. N himself reappeared a few yards away. Mavis crossed her arms petulantly.

The shinobi finally regained control over himself. "You never cease to amuse me, little lady," he chuckled, his blue eyes dancing with mirth. He got back to his feet, walking back over to her so he could pat her on the head. Mavis glowered half-heartedly at him, but didn't move to swat his hand away.

They headed in the direction of the grave once N was done. Mavis merrily skipped over the roots and stones, this time making sure she didn't trip over any of them. N ambled along after her, his feet automatically following a path that he had already taken many times. They emerged into an open clearing, sunlight streaming in from above and giving the place a healthy glow. The ground was illuminated in opaque turquoise-blue, patches of iridescent green shining faintly here and there. Roots extended out of the mouth of the cave, snaking across the ground. At the far end was an opening partially hidden beneath a hollow knob of long, golden grass. Inside laid a square platform topped by three long stones, the central tombstone split down the middle with a circle cut out of it.

This was the grave of the famous first guild master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermilion.

Mavis spun around halfway to the grave. "So? What did you want to talk about, N?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking back on her heels.

N made himself comfortable among the thickest roots near the cave's opening. "Do you remember when we first set up the contract for my shadow guardianship?" he inquired, throwing an arm carelessly over the root jutting out at his side. When Mavis nodded, he continued, "Makarov-san wants to terminate it."

"Huh? Why?" Mavis gave him a confused look.

"He wants me to stop working in the shadows and become an official Fairy Tail member," N replied. He absently ran a hand through his hair, messing up the untidy spikes even more. "I get his reasoning, but… I'd actually rather not come into the light, you know? I can't get rid of centuries of shadow association just like that."

Mavis observed him quietly. "This is unusual for you, Naruto. You don't usually dilly-dally about an issue—do you perhaps, at least in your heart, want to join them? Staying in the shadows for so long must be tiring," she said, walking over to him and seating herself next to him.

"But it's part of who I am. I'm a _shinobi_, Mavis—a ninja. I just… I feel like if I step out there onto the public stage, where everyone knows my name and my face, I'll lose something of myself. Especially if I'm officially inducted into Fairy Tail; I'll have to force myself to adhere to its 'no-killing' policy, which is something my instincts may not allow me to do," N said, frustration seeping into his tone. He rested the back of his head against the thick root, gazing up at the green leaves swaying softly in the wind high above their heads. Guardian or not, killer instincts weren't something to be taken lightly. What could he do though? The idea of remaining Fairy Tail's protector while ridding himself of the shadow part of the contract still had merit, but...

A small hand lightly touching his arm jolted him from his thoughts. He nearly whipped out a kunai, but the realization that the hand could only belong to Mavis made his instincts back down. N took deep breaths, inhaling, exhaling, as he closed his eyes. 934 years old was way too old to let his natural instincts get the better of him, he knew that. He was probably overthinking this whole business.

N's eyes shot open as two tiny hands clapped themselves onto his cheeks and forced his head to turn towards the spirit, his haunted blue eyes meeting concerned green. "Naruto," Mavis began slowly, "I think you're wasting too much time wallowing in the past."

The blond man blinked at her, surprised. "In the past?" he echoed.

Mavis nodded, all traces of playfulness melting from her expression. "Exactly. You're old, Naruto, we both know that. But I think it's time for you to let go of whatever inhibitions you have about what you've done in previous years so you can look forward to tomorrow. The shadows may be your past, but maybe it's the stage that holds your future," she told him, carefully studying his face. "Think about it, Naruto. You're Fairy Tail's protector, but that doesn't mean you have to be a _shadow_ guardian. You can be its shield and its sword without needing to bind yourself to the darkness." She let go of his face, leaning back against the roots. One of her hands remained on his arm.

N was quiet, switching his gaze down to his own hands. It was difficult to look forward to the future since he didn't think he had much of one, considering his immortality. But if he could take charge of his own path again, thinking of the day where he would finally die, he could shape his own future. Mavis was right, in way, and she seemed to have caught on to his train of thought, but that didn't make things any easier. He clenched his fists.

"You don't have to reveal your face, you know," Mavis added, seeing the conflicting emotions chase each other across the man's face. "You could keep wearing the mask and continue being 'N' instead of 'Naruto'."

"That's true," N conceded. "After all, aside from myself, everyone who knows my true name is dead. Including you."

"It's your choice in the end, though," Mavis chimed, smiling softly. "I think you should go with the decision that makes the most sense to you." She scooted closer to his side and hugged his arm, a peaceful grin blooming on her youthful face. "Now, come on, look alive! No more of that gloomy face, okay? Let's talk about something else!"

N smiled sheepishly. "You're right. I didn't come here to bog you down with my boring adult talk," he joked, lifting a finger to poke her in the cheek.

She giggled at the touch, but then leveled a flat look in his direction. "You didn't just imply that I'm a kid, right? I'm not as old as you, but I am over a hundred, you know?" she said, a cute little scowl curling her lips.

"But it's so much fun to tease you, little lady," N laughed.

She huffed at him and slapped his arm. Then she got to her feet and danced her way to the center of the clearing. "Come on, N, it's such a nice day! Play with me!" she called out. "Or we could talk, too. You're not leaving yet, are you?" She brushed a few stray strands of hair over her shoulder.

N stood up, stretching out the kinks in his back. "Might as well stay awhile before I head to my next destination," he agreed amicably, his arms dropping back down to his sides. "But there's not that much to talk about, given that in the years we've known each other, we've probably discussed every subject under the sun."

"Just tell me what's happened since the last time you visited me," Mavis pointed out, twirling around once. Her extremely long hair fanned out as she spun, catching the light and making the wavy tresses glow with an ethereal light. "Unless it's been another boring year with no incidents," she added, coming to a stop.

"Something did happen, actually," N replied, walking closer to her. "A guild called Phantom Lord decided that attacking Fairy Tail was a good idea."

"You kicked their butts, right? Please tell me you did," Mavis said, a ferocious fire brewing in her narrowed eyes at the thought of her precious guild being attacked.

N chuckled, setting one hand on top of her head. "Of course. No one will get away with attacking Fairy Tail while I'm around—" He cut off as a rush of memories flooded his mind, indicating that one of the clones he'd left to defend the guild had dispelled itself. He snorted out loud as he went over the memories.

Mavis looked him curiously. "What happened?" she asked, removing his hand from her head.

"One of the Council's toadies approached Makarov-san and asked to speak to me. Said that since the Phantom Lord guild master was stripped of his title of Wizard Saint, they needed to fill the spot. I don't know how they caught wind of my existence, but my clone gave them a _very_ appropriate answer," N explained, a shark-like smirk surfacing across his face.

"…I get the feeling that you didn't say 'yes'," Mavis laughed.

"You think? No way in hell am I letting some corrupt government officials dig their claws into me. Let someone else be the Council's lapdog," N said, flapping his hand about in a careless motion. "Besides, people always seem to overlook the fact that I'm not a mage in the first place. Tsk, tsk." He settled his hand on his hip, shaking his head in a mock-shameful motion.

"That's because you don't tell them, silly," Mavis chirped, beaming up at him. "Being one of the Ten Wizard Saints is supposed to be an honor, you know."

"I don't give a flying _fuck."_

Mavis' tinkling laugh rang through the clearing at his blatant response. N grinned, flopping on to his back in one of the shady areas. He laced his fingers together behind his head and closed his eyes. It was nice here—a nap sounded excellent at the moment.

"Oh, come on, N. You didn't come all this way just to sleep, did you?" Mavis spoke close to his ear.

"Nah, but the conditions are perfect for napping in," he replied. He deliberately let out a loud snore.

"N," he heard Mavis sigh in exasperation. He opened a single eye, grinning mischievously up at her. She just shook her head, a small smile blossoming over her lips, and sat down next to him. Both of them gazed up at the sky together, peering far beyond the green canopy that shaded the clearing. It was a beautiful afternoon.

* * *

N touched down in the ruins of a house, his chakra wings vanishing into the air. The charred bricks crumbled beneath his feet, staining his sandals with black dust. He looked around, a solemn expression overtaking his face as he was once again confronted with the silent grave of his former village, Konoha. The air no longer smelt of death and ashes, but the broken buildings, the blackened ground, and the ghostly image of a village long gone said everything that didn't need to be said out loud. Time had taken its toll—the great forest that had once sheltered Konoha had taken over the deserted area, covering what remained with vines and saplings. Long grasses sprouted through the cracks of dead buildings, shimmering gently in the light of the setting sun.

N tread lightly over the dusty road, his feet tracing a familiar path through the former village. His eyes wandered over its last remnants, taking in the abandoned sites, reminding himself that the era of shinobi had ended centuries ago and left nothing but ancient history in its wake.

He paused in front of a particular spot within the village, kneeling down to brush the dust away from the two cracked ramen bowls sitting in the dirt. The banner he had planted there before he had officially left the Elemental Nations was gone, likely the work of wind or rodents. N's fingers touched the single stone slab that jutted out from the ground.

"Hello Teuchi-san, Ayame-neechan. I'm sorry I haven't visited in such a long time. It's been about 400 years, hasn't it?" he said softly, tracing over the two names carefully etched onto the stone slab. He smiled sadly. The owner of the Ichiraku Ramen stand and his daughter had died during the invasion of Konoha when N had been only thirty-five years old. He still remembered how crushed he had been when he had found out. The invasion hadn't lasted much longer after that—he'd gone into a berserk rage and just killed and _killed_ every enemy ninja he had come across. His eyes darkened. Those were some of the blackest moments in his life.

He stood up, wiping the dirt from his fingers. "I hope both of you are living happy lives now. Who knows, maybe you're both still ramen chefs," he murmured, turning around. "I'm still trying to find something to live for myself—it's taking time, but I think the guild I've become the guardian for is slowly becoming a reason. Its first guild master, Mavis, is a very good friend of mine. On her deathbed, she told me she loved me. I'm not sure if I return those feelings yet, especially since—well, you know who. She's still around as a ghost and I visit her every year, though. And you know what she told me? She said she thought I was clinging to my past too much. And… she's right. So it's time for me to finally move on—not to say that I'd forget you guys, I mean, you were both such important people to me, but maybe I can finally forget the ghosts that have haunted me since the Elemental Nations died. Don't you think so?"

N got no answer, but he'd expected that. He glanced back once at the old ramen bowls, offering a small, nostalgic smile. "Until next time, then, Teuchi-san, Ayame-neechan." He continued down the dusty path, a different destination in mind.

Minutes later, he came to a large crater at the outskirts of the ruins, where the old training grounds had been located. The crater had been overrun by grass and budding flowers, covering the rocky surface with vegetation. At the center of the hole sat an enormous stone pillar about four times taller than N, surrounded by four smaller tombstones. The central pillar held the names of all of his important Konoha people who had died in the line of duty. Similarly, the other four stones had the names of his non-Konoha friends from their respective villages carved into them. The previous Memorial Stone had been destroyed during one of the wars, so he had taken it upon himself to create a second memorial site to honor the dead. All five stones had vines creeping over them, a testament to the amount of time that had passed since the Elemental Nations had perished and the rise of mages had begun.

N slowly made his way to the bottom of the crater, placing one palm flat against the cool surface of the stone pillar. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against the cold surface, and whispered, "I'm home…"

A strong gust swept through the area, ruffling N's messy strands of hair. When he stepped away, he could almost imagine they were still with him, and he smiled up at the sky. He took a deep breath.

"Hey, guys, it's me, Naruto. I know, it's been so long and I'm so sorry for leaving all of you out here without a word, but well, duty calls. Last time was about 400 years ago, wasn't it? The dragons I told you about have been defeated or gone into hiding. Up until seven years ago, I thought they'd all died, but there was this kid I ran into who assured me that he had been raised by one. His name's Natsu, and he's rude, foul-mouthed, hot-headed, and stupid. Sounds familiar, right? But I definitely think he has the potential to become one of the best mages in Fairy Tail. Ah, Fairy Tail is a guild that I became a shadow guardian for ninety-eight years ago. The current guild master is trying to persuade me to drop the contract so I can become a full-fledged member, but I think both mine and Mavis' final decision is better. Rather than a shadow guardian, I'll simply be a guardian, that way I'll be known, but I'll still be able to protect the guild as more than just one of its many members.

"Anyways, I still haven't found the key to undoing my immortality yet. It's really frustrating, knowing that all of you have probably moved on already. I want to join you guys on the other side, but I can't yet. I hope you're all doing well. I can still imagine Ero-Sennin being reincarnated as a porn author again—I do have respect for literature, by the way, I've read every single Icha Icha book you've published—and pervy Kakashi-sensei being some kind of lecherous playboy who makes moves on innocent young ladies—haha, I'm just kidding, sensei. Tsunade-baachan's probably still the worst gambler ever, knowing her luck. Iruka-sensei, I'm sure you would be a kind and caring teacher no matter where you go. Sakura would be a beautiful doctor, and Sasuke, you're probably out there brooding about something a lot less intense than how to kill particular people. Gaara, I can totally see you as a doting parent in another life time despite how you—or rather, both of us—grew up. Ah, thinking about all of this makes me really long for my life to end soon, but hoping for that is just a step away from suicide. Not that I could kill myself… but that's beside the point.

"That's all, there's not much to say about what I've been doing these last few centuries. The biggest reason I came back is because I feel like something big is going to happen soon, and I'll need the Tailed Beasts' help again. Maybe this time we'll finally kill Acnologia, the damn sneaky bastard that he is." N paused to press a hand to the stone pillar again. "Until next time, then. I promise it won't be another 400 years before I visit you guys again." He bumped his fist lightly against the stone. "See you later." He turned around to make his way out of the crater.

Once he set foot on the outer rim of the crater, he created his chakra wings again. Lifting himself into the air and riding the currents, he veered north-west. He had one last stop to make before he could return to Magnolia.

N flew high over the massive treetops, a single flap of his wings shaking leaves loose from their branches. His final destination was somewhere in Earth Country, far away from the former village of Iwagakure. On foot, it would take several days to reach it. With wings, it would be a matter of hours. He should probably rest more, especially since it hadn't been too long since he flew to Konoha all the way from Tenroujima, but he wanted to get back to the guild before anything too big for his clones alone to handle happened.

As he sped over the landscape, his eyes took in the scenery, which once again thrived with lush, healthy vegetation. Sites that he remembered being completely burnt to the ground had grass and trees growing on them. The battle graves of shinobi were marked by weapons that still stuck out of the ground, although they were dull, rusty, and had vines crawling all over them. When he reached the edge of Konoha's forest, the wide, flat land of the rest of Fire Country met his eyes. He surged on.

When a ring of pillars finally appeared on the horizon, N was feeling a noticeable strain on his chakra reserves from using his chakra wings for such a long time. He banked sharply to the left, landing on a rocky outcropping that stuck out of the earth like a giant finger. The golden-orange appendages vanished from his back at last, leaving him to stare into the darkness. That wasn't a problem, he had excellent night vision. He set off towards the pillars.

The clouds in the sky parted on his way there, shining moonlight down on the path. N stepped onto the circular platform that the ring of pillars surrounded. He walked over to the one holding a glowing, sand-yellow orb. He touched it and said, "Shukaku."

Next was an ultramarine orb. "Matatabi."

Third, sea-green. "Isobu."

Fourth, vermillion-red. "Son Gokuu."

Fifth, a brilliant titanium-white. "Kokuou."

Sixth, a blue so pale it looked almost white. "Saiken."

Seventh, a multi-colored orb. "Choumei."

Eighth, an earthy, pastel maroon. "Gyuuki."

And finally, a fiery, blazing orange. "Kurama."

N walked to the center of the platform. He spread his arms out, speaking only a single word, _"Awaken."_

The earth trembled, nine different pillars of light bursting upward from the orbs, making the sky shine rainbow. A strong wind picked up, making N's cloak flap wildly behind him. The circular platform began to glow a bright turquoise-blue, small rocks floating off the ground as power began to suffuse through the very air. The lights began to solidify around him, revealing the shrunken forms of the nine Tailed Beasts.

N lowered his arms, the small pebbles and bits of rock dropping back to the earth. They stood in silence, gazing at each other again after 400 years of separation.

Then N's face split into a foxy grin.

"_It's show time."_

* * *

**I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was to write this chapter, especially the part where N has a brief interaction with the Fairy Tail members. I kept writing and erasing and rewriting sentences and paragraphs, but it still sounds super awkward at some parts. Sorry. Also, if anyone gets confused why Kurama isn't with Naruto when in 'Phantom Fury', Naruto asked for his power, that's because Kurama's consciousness and half of his chakra are sealed in the orb while the other half remains with Naruto.**

**On another note, 72 reviews were added since the previous chapter was posted. OMG. With that kind of turnout, I believe we can reach 300 reviews. Pretty please with a cherry on top? I know this wasn't another exciting, action-packed chapter, but that's 'cause I didn't want to get into the Battle of Fairy Tail arc yet. The Tower of Heaven stuff happens while N is away.**

**As for the poll, yes, Mavis won. There's just no way anyone else is going to catch up.**

**New goal: 300 reviews! Let's do it, guys!**

**MangaFreak15**


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